


Calling You

by fog_mind



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: AU - single parent, Age Difference, Angst with a Happy Ending, Babysitter!Hanzo, Dad!Jesse, F/M, Fluff, Genji Shimada is a Little Shit, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jesse is adopted, Jewish Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison, Leo is jesse's son and my child OC, M/M, Pet Names, This is the first babysitter hanzo fic I've seen so I'm kinda proud, ashe and jesse are ex's, good to talk things through, hanzo is 22, jesse is 28
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-09-05 08:41:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16807267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fog_mind/pseuds/fog_mind
Summary: Jesse hated calling babysitters, but maybe calling this one wouldn't be so bad.





	1. First Call

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in over two years pls be kind to me!! I found this fic in the depths of my folders and I wanted to carry it on, genuinely fallen in love with the idea of this au so I hope yall will too
> 
> i hope to be updating once a week but ive got uni deadlines and stuff so it might be maybe a day or so every week but who knows, ill do my best!!
> 
> enjoy

Jesse hated calling babysitters. Not that he had anything against babysitters, not at all. He just felt insanely guilty about leaving his 5 year old son, Leo, and he knew he had no other choices. Jesse’s parents were out of town on a ‘seniors’ cruise but they refused to call it that. Jesse’s friends were all busy with work or family celebrations, all his family were busy and he had to cover a weekend shift at the bar he worked at. 

Jesse was usually the day-time bartender over lunch and late afternoons and Leo’s school finished 20 minutes after Jesse’s 6 hour shift finished so it worked out perfectly really. But this weekend, his co-workers was sick and one had a funeral and he didn’t know what else to do except ask people he knew for a good babysitter. He eventually got a reply from his friend who recommend a guy called Hanzo, and Jesse spent the next 30 minutes checking his background and grilling his friend to see what he was like. 

He was a college student in his final year studying fine and contemporary art, he was 22, had a younger brother who went to the same college he did, and did baby sitting to help pay for a small part of his college tuition. When Jesse felt satisfied he wasn’t some crazy killer, he dialled the number, watching Leo who was sat colouring at the table, holding his drawing up to show his dad every few minutes, who gave him a thumbs up in return. 

Leo had come into Jesse’s life 4 years ago when he was working up in the northern part of California. He had just finished his night shift when he heard crying from the alleyway next to his bar. What were the chances, right? He approached cautiously and found Leo, a tiny crying baby wrapped up in bedsheets and placed in a box for anyone to find. Jesse had taken him to the nearby hospital and made sure he was healthy and safe. The nurses asked Jesse what he wanted to do with him, Leo had settled down and was sleeping in Jesse’s arms when he was asked. He looked over the boy, brown eyes, freckles, dark brown hair, smallish nose, bigger ears than normal, a miniature baby Jesse. And he already knew his answer to the nurses question. Jesse had taken him home the next day, bought everything the boy needed and spoke to his boss about the situation.

The boy fit right into Jesse’s life like no one else had really, before he knew it his apartment was filled with toys and teddies and bright coloured sippy cups. Leo’s room was directly next to Jesse’s and he had about 50 baby monitors all over the apartment so he would always know where he was and how happy he was too. It was hard, undoubtedly hard, being a single parent wasn’t as easy as movies made out. Jesse was often exhausted and grouchy which affected his work which made even grouchier which made him unapproachable from his friends view. He didn’t mind being single but it would be easier to raise a child with someone else, but Jesse didn’t have time for a relationship, he had his son and that was enough for now.

Jesse eventually got fired for falling asleep whilst working and spilling a drink over a woman sat at the bar. No amount of apologies could save him and he was officially unemployed. It wasn’t bad because he got more sleep, he got to spend time with Leo and he had a savings account which kept them going but he knew it couldn’t last very long.

After 2 months of unemployment, he moved back down to LA to be closer to his parents. They wanted to be a part of Leo’s life and wanted to spoil him like grandparents did, Leo didn’t mind at all. Jack and Gabriel were doting to say the least, they usually took Leo out on the weekends to the parks, the beaches, the ice cream parlours, despite Jesse telling them not to give him ice cream. Leo didn’t talk much at all for a 3 year old, Jesse knew this anyway but it concerned Jack and Gabe, he should be talking more, Jesse, they’d tell him, doesn’t he talk?

Jesse told them he did, he said ‘daddy’ every now and then when he needed Jesse, he’d say things he saw, like bird or dog or car, he was observant but he limited himself to the words he said. Gabe nearly cried the first time Leo called him Abuelo and Jack did cry the first time he was called Grandpa. Jesse wasn’t worried, he knew Leo had a rough start in life so he didn’t want to suddenly pressure him into saying more than he was comfortable to. Leo liked to be held, he’d always want to be holding Jesse somehow, whether it was his hand, his shirt, his pants, his sleeve or actually in Jesse’s arms, he loved it. He’d always fall asleep when they watched movies or tv together. When they were at the beach, he’d want to be near Jesse and sit close by his side. He told Leo’s doctor, Angela, this but she said it was completely normal for Leo considering his unknown beginnings, he probably didn’t get much attention when he was a baby and so for Jesse to give him all his attention was new and exciting for Leo. 

It took Leo a while to properly warm up to Jack and Gabe, he wasn’t sure of them until Jesse told him that they were his grandpas, even then he didn’t like to be held for long but Jack quickly found out he could be tempted with cookies and used that to his ability whenever he could. 

But now, Leo loved seeing his grandparents. He loved helping Jack in their garden and he loved helping Gabe bake, he loved their dogs, Bailey and King, he loved letting them curl around him so he could run his tiny hands through their soft fur. It was like he was a different boy from a few months ago and that’s why Jesse didn’t want to call a baby sitter. He didn’t know how Leo was going to react to him and it scared Jesse, it really did. 

But he had no choice. He explained to Leo what was going to happen and his son nodded along as he spoke, frowning slightly but keeping quiet. Jesse dialled the number of the baby sitter and sighed softly, leaning back against the sofa. 

“Hello? Who is this?” Asked the soft voice that came through the phone. Jesse was surprised, he didn’t sound he thought he would, a gentle accent changing his English slightly. 

“Hi, I heard you baby sit and I was wonderin’ if you’d be able to baby sit for my son tonight, I know it’s kinda short notice but I ain’t got anyone else to ask.” 

“Oh.. yes I’m available tonight, how long will you need me for?”

“Well, I work from 6 til about 11 at night, I hope that ain’t too late for ya.”

“No, of course not, I’ll be there at 6 then, what is the address?”

“I live on Dale street, number 9 with the like red front door and I think its an oak tree out front but I’ll hafta check for ya.”

“That’s fine, thank you, I charge 7 dollars an hour.”

“Oh sure, yeah that’s fine with me, I’ll see ya at 5:30, that okay?”

“Yes, I’ll be there, I’ll see you then, Mr..”

“McCree, but Jesse is fine with me, I’ll see ya then.”

“Goodbye, Mr. McCree.” Then he hung up, leaving Jesse slightly confused but relieved he had finally called him. He was given the number this morning but had waited til 3 o’clock before actually calling him because he was still apprehensive about leaving Leo with someone he didn’t know. 

Jesse sighed softly, setting his phone down and looking over at Leo who was looking back at him, head tilted slightly. Jesse smiled and moved to sit next to him, gently picking him and setting him in Jesse’s lap, kissing the crown of his head gently. 

Jesse had always considered himself to be a very talkative guy, he loved talking to customers and co-workers and anyone he met that he could have a conversation with, but being Leo allowed him to take a break from all that, to just be quiet and peaceful for a while and to be calm. Children weren’t like this but that didn’t mean Leo was wrong, he was different, every child was different. Parents would often complain that their children would cry and fight and thrown things. Jesse just nodded, telling them Leo really wasn’t like that at all. They would scoff and nod and pat his arm, its only a matter of time, they’d tell him but he knew it wasn’t. Jesse knew his son. 

“Your drawin’ is real good, honey, I love the colours you used, that’s Abuelo, ain’t it?” He asked softly, reaching for Leo’s drawing and setting it in front of them. 

“That’s Bailey and King,” Leo told him, pointing to the two dogs at the bottom of the page with one hand and holding on to Jesse’s shirt with his other.

“So it is, they look like they’re havin’ fun, can I put this one on the fridge?” Jesse collected his sons drawings. Some went on the fridge and the others went in a folder Jesse kept under his bed, along with movie tickets, pictures he got developed, anything that Leo ever made for him, he kept. 

“No.. this one is for Abuelo and Grandpa, I told them they could have it.”

Jesse gasped loudly, wrapping his arms around Leo and squeezing gently. “I can’t have it? But this beautiful drawin’ will make the kitchen look so much better!” 

“Daddy, I can draw you another one,” Leo replied, laughing quietly and pushing his face against Jesse’s chest. 

“Guess I’ll hafta settle for that then,” he smiled, kissing his cheek and blowing a raspberry on his skin, causing Leo to wiggle and try and get away, giggling loudly.

“Daddy! Stop it!”

“Will you draw me a picture tonight?”

“Yes!” 

“Alright, alright,” Jesse chuckled, kissing Leo’s cheek gently, slowly leaning back against the sofa and sighing softly, closing his eyes and keeping Leo close to his chest. 

“Hey, sugarplum, your baby sitter tonight draws pictures like you do, maybe you could do some drawin’ with him, yeah?” Jesse asked softly, opening his eyes and looking down at Leo who was looking back up at Jesse with wide eyes and a confused look on his face.

“A baby sitter is someone who’s gonna come and look after ya whilst Daddy’s at work, you know Abeulo Gabe and Grandpa Jack are on holiday and Ana and Reinhardt are visiting Auntie Fareeha, so I’ve called one o’ my friends to come and play with ya until I get home from work, how’s that sound?” Jesse asked him, smiling and brushing Leo’s curls off his forehead, making a soft noise when Leo’s eyes began to well with tears.

“I know ya ain’t too happy about this, pumpkin, but I got no other choice. It’s only for one night and ya might jus’ enjoy it and make a new friend, who knows? Also, I was gonna tell ya this after but I bought ya some ice cream for after dinner too, so I’ll tell Hanzo about it and he’ll get it out for ya, okay?”

Leo nodded slowly, moving away from Jesse and picking up his drawing, sitting back at the table and starting to colour again, sniffling quietly to himself. 

“I’m gonna go have a shower, won’t be long, honeybee, then I’ll start on your dinner then Hanzo should be here.”

“Okay, Daddy,” Leo replied, looking away from his drawing to look over at Jesse, smiling slightly, despite having watery eyes.

Jesse got up, kissing his head gently and heading off towards the bathroom, a small weight settling on his chest as he locked the bathroom door, sitting down on the edge of the bath. He’s scared, Leo is scared of being left alone, Jesse thought, sighing heavily and shaking his head. I have to go to work, he told him, nodding and getting up, starting to undress. Or do I? he added, nodding again then shaking his head.

“No, I have to work and Leo has to have a baby sitter. Okay, done, no more imaginary discussions on this,” he told himself as he got into the shower.

He’ll be just fine, he trusts the words of his friends to recommend baby sitters to him and thinking otherwise would be insulting to them. Jesse sighed heavily again, turning the shower on. 

“My baby is growin’ up, huh? Or maybe I’m jus’ gettin’ old.” He smiled, starting to shower and trying to forget his worries.


	2. Meet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i got too excited to wait another week so im posting this chapter early bc im too in love with this au 
> 
> enjoy!!

True to his word, Hanzo arrived dead on 5:30pm, knocking twice on Jesse’s door. Jesse had rushed down to meet him, opening the door and smiling down at the man who was stood outside his door, a small piece of paper in his hand. 

“This is Mr. McCree’s residence, isn’t it?” Hanzo asked, sounding like royalty as opposed to a fine art student, although his outfit made him suit the latter better than he originally thought. 

The man before Jesse was wearing washed out blue jeans that had been rolled up at the bottoms, showing skinny ankles with a small anklete around his right ankle, leading down to white sneakers. He was wearing a soft looking, stripey t-shirt, blue and white horizontal stripes running over it. A warm honey beige, cable knit cardigan finished off Hanzo’s look, a few strands of his inky hair falling down over his shoulders that had escaped from his loose bun at the nape of his neck. 

“Yeah, yeah, that’s me, but just Jesse is fine, c’mon in, I really appreciate ya bein’ here to help me out,” Jesse told him, stepping aside and letting Hanzo enter. The young man nodded, walking into the foyer of the house, slowly looking around the entrance of Jesse’s house, tilting his head ever so slightly when he saw Leo disappear around the corner again. 

“That’s Leo, he’s the one you’re gonna be lookin’ after. He won’t be any trouble, he’s real quiet and he’ll fall asleep at around 7 so all ya gotta do is get him into bed for around then, that okay?” Jesse asked, moving over and picking Leo up, chuckling as the boy wiggled slightly, clinging close to Jesse. 

“That’s fine, Mr. McCree,” Hanzo told him, folding the paper and pushing it back into his pocket, “is there anything else I need to be aware of?”

Jesse thought for a moment, beckoning him to follow him with a small shift of his head, going into the kitchen, Leo looking over Jesse’s shoulder at Hanzo as his dad walked with him.

“Foods in the fridge, if ya get peckish, I made some paella, jus’ heat it up in the microwave and it’ll be fine. Leo ain’t to have fizzy stuff but there’s some ice cream for him, only if he’s a good boy though, don’t give it him if he’s messin’ ya about,” Jesse told him, nodding as he listed things for Hanzo. 

“TV is yours to use, watch appropriate stuff with Leo and then ya can do whatever with it when he’s in bed. Bed by 7 and I’ll be home about 11 so I can give ya a lift home if ya would like,” Jesse set Leo down on the kitchen counter, rubbing a small bit of food off the corner of his mouth. 

“That all sounds fine, Mr. McCree, I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Hanzo replied, nodding and folding his hands together in the doorway. 

“Right, I best be off, I’m gonna be late if I hang around anymore,” he turned to Leo, “you be good for Hanzo, okay, honey? I don’t want any misbehaviour or muckin’ about, I’ll see ya later, sugarplum,” Jesse kissed his head gently, hugging him and lifting him up, kissing his head again and setting Leo down on the kitchen floor, moving to the door and grabbing his jacket. 

“Bye, angel!”

“Bye, Daddy..”

“See ya later, okay?”

“Yeah..”

And with that, Jesse had moved outside to get into his truck and head off to work. 

\--

Jesse finished work slightly early, he was finished by 10:30 and had pretty much never left the bar so fast in his entire life, near running to his truck and starting to pull out of the car park in under a minute of finishing his shift. 

He got home in about 10 minutes, sitting in his truck and breathing deeply for about 5 minutes, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Jesse was actually terrified of leaving Leo, he knew it was only for a few hours and he knew he had no choice but he hated it. He loathed leaving his little boy and he knew Leo hated when Jesse had to leave for work and when Leo had to go into class in the mornings, waving to Jesse with a sad look on his face. Jesse’s fragile heart couldn’t take it at all. He never got over the first time Leo left to go into class, Leo in tears and Jesse very, very close to tears. 

Jesse was protective, to a point where he doesn’t let Leo go in the backgarden without him being close by his side. Mothers and fathers have told Jesse that Leo needs space to grow but Jesse finds it hard to let him have it. Leo is small, small for his age and Jesse really shows his fatherly side when that comes into play. Leo is actually the smallest kid in his class, the girls are taller than him but he reassures Leo that he’ll be as tall as a tree, which Leo definitely likes the idea of. ( Jesse has a drawing of Leo at the same height of the trees and he loves it.) 

Jesse’s protective side comes from past experiences, it wasn’t just something he developed when he first got Leo. Obviously he was protective from the beginning but when Leo was 3 years old, Jesse got into a relationship with a lady, she was new at work and she really had him around her finger. She got in close to his heart, so close that he didn’t see that Leo didn’t like her one bit. She scared him, she’d talk to him in a way that frightened him. It went on for months, Jesse just.. didn’t know, he was too deep in her spell to realise that she was hurting the one person he cared the most for. He saw her hit Leo after he accidentally spilt some of his juice on her boots, she smacked him around the head and Jesse saw red, yelling and taking Leo away from her. He felt his little body trembling as he yelled her out the house, locking it and collapsing in the hallway with Leo pressed tight against his chest, apologizing over and over to him. After that, Leo didn’t like to be touched by anyone who wasn’t Jesse. He didn’t like being picked up by Jack or Gabe, didn’t like playing with the other kids at school. Leo’s teacher has called Jesse in to talk to him about it and Jesse told him, he understood and tried to suggest ways of helping, Jesse tried but it just took time. Time and trust from the people cared most for.

It took 2 years of hard work for Leo to trust people again, Jack and Gabe were the first after Jesse, both crying when Leo held out his arms to be picked up by them. Ana and Reinhardt were next, Reinhardt letting Leo come to him as opposed to the large man rushing in as usual, Ana lifting Leo and smiling down at the boy, both of them telling Leo how proud they are of him. Jesse may or may not have cried at this point because he felt the same way, he was insanely proud of Leo, he went through trauma from a young age and Jesse didn’t expect him to be so eager to be held by other people so soon. Jesse was just an insanely proud dad of a very brave boy. 

Jesse knew everything was going to be okay. Leo liked to be in contact with people. He’d come out of class holding his teachers hand, pointing at Jesse then running over, waving to his student teacher, Lúcio, who was always happy to wave back and give him thumbs up when he got to Jesse. Jesse would take him to the park and he’d often see Leo playing games with the other children there whilst Jesse spoke to parents, often politely turning down offers to singles night at the jazz bar and all that. Leo would pet any animals he saw; dogs, cats, horses, the donkeys one the beach, the frogs that Lúcio brought into class to show them all. Jesse often considered getting a pet but he just wasn’t sure yet. Jesse worked most days so a puppy was out of the question, he’d feel bad on the little guy if they left him for 6 hours a day. Puppies, like Leo, needed attention for growth so a puppy wasn’t right for them just yet. 

Jesse sighed softly, rolling his shoulders and getting out of the truck, smiling tiredly at the oak tree out front, the soft light from the front room washing over the dark bark of the trunk and leaves. He grabbed his jacket from the passenger seat, taking his keys and heading to the front door, locking it and pocketing his keys. He headed inside, wiping his shoes and slipping them off by the door.

“Hanzo? You about?” Jesse called, heading into the front room and frowning at the empty room, laying hid jacket down over the arm of the sofa. He moved into the kitchen and smiled as he saw the young man, phone in hand and a weird looking drink in the other.

“Good evening, Mr. McCree, how was work?” Hanzo asked, not looking up from his phone straight away but settling his gaze on Jesse after a few seconds. Jesse hadn’t noticed the black eyeliner that flicked out slightly by the sides of his eyes.

“Busy, as always, but it was good, always fun,” he replied, smiling and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, “I hope Leo was okay for ya.”

“He was fine, yes, very well behaved for a five year old,” Hanzo checked his phone again before slipping it into his back pocket, tucking a small piece of hair behind his ear with his free hand. 

“That’s reassurin’ to hear, he was a lil’ worried about this, ain’t really had a babysitter before, ain’t ever had to leave him with one but it is real reassurin’ to know he was okay,” Jesse moved to the fridge again, taking out the paella dish and spooning some into a bowl, “did ya eat before?”

Hanzo shook his head, “it’s fine, Mr. McCree, I must be getting home, it’s late.”

“Oh right, lemme get ya money and then you’re free to go, need a lift home?” He asked, moving to his wallet and taking out $50, handing it to Hanzo, who frowned slightly.

“I only charge $7 an hour, I’ve been here for five so I should only be paid $35, I can‘t take fifty from you.”

“Consider it a thank you for bein’ so good with Leo, I’ve been worried all night but you’re really made me feel better about it, darlin’, please jus’ take it.” Jesse thought he imagined the small flush of colour in Hanzo’s cheeks at the small endearment from the cowboy, smiling and shaking the money slightly. 

Hanzo sighed softly, nodding eventually and taking the money reluctantly. “Thank you, you’re too kind, really. I did my job and you’re paying me more than necessary.”

“Oh stop complainin’, buy some stuff for school or take someone on a date or somethin’, enjoy it, okay?” 

“Fine, thank you. I’ll be on my way, good night, Mr. McCree.”

“Sure ya don’t want a lift home? It ain’t no trouble on my half,” Jesse told him, moving his dish into the microwave and setting it off.

“I don’t live far from here, it’ll be fine, thank you for the offer,” Hanzo started moving towards the door, slipping on his sneakers and opening the front door. 

“Leo drew something for you, it’s on your bed, he told me to tell you, good night, Mr. McCree.” Jesse thought he saw a smile, but like the blush, it disappeared as soon as it appeared, Hanzo leaving through the front door and heading off down the drive way, the door gently closing, leaving Jesse alone in the foyer. 

Jesse ignored the dinging of the microwave to rush upstairs, grinning when he saw the piece of paper on his bed. He moved over, picking it up and smiling down at it, feeling his chest grow fuzzy and warm. It was a drawing of Jesse, cowboy hat and all, holding hands with presumably Leo and a.. frog? Jesse chuckled softly, looking over the paper for a few minutes before propping it up against the lamp next to his bed. 

Jesse got up, stretching his arms over his head and groaning softly as he felt his back crack slightly, shuffling out and down the hall to Leo’s room, quietly heading in and moving over to the boys bed, brushing a few of the curls off his forehead, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss against Leo’s tanned skin.

“Goodnight, honeybee, sweet dreams,” he mumbled, kissing his head again before getting up, pulling his blankets further up and over him before heading out, closing the door quietly and smiling to himself, moving off downstairs to go eat his now cold paella.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos keep me alive 
> 
> message me on tumblr if u wanna scream about mchanzo with me   
> frog-mist   
> (:


	3. Unplanned Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know very very little about California and its layout and i also know very little about caring for frogs, but im enthusiastic about both!!

It was actually Leo’s idea to go into the town that day, he knew Jesse always had Sundays off and Leo missed having Jesse home on the Saturday because of work. It had been a week after Leo had been watched by Hanzo, Jesse had been asked to work again out of hours but Ana and Reinhardt offered to look after him as Jesse’s parents were still on their seniors cruise, they had sent Jesse pictures yesterday and it actually looked pretty fun, but the matching Hawaiian shirts they wore didn’t look fun at all. Whether that was Jack’s idea or whether they were mandatory wasn’t mentioned.

Ana and Reinhardt had dropped Leo off back home at about 10am, coming in for a drink before rushing off again, something about getting all the good bedding plants that had arrived at their local garden centre. 

Leo hugged Jesse tightly, smiling as he was picked up and held close to his father, holding another piece of paper in his hands. 

“Did ya have fun at Grandma Ana’s and Opa Reinhardt’s?” Jesse asked, shifting Leo into one arm so he could finish putting away the now clean crockery he used for breakfast. “What do ya got there, honeybee? Been drawin’ again?”

Leo nodded, smiling and leaning his head against Jesse’s shoulder, holding up the paper for him to see. It was Leo in the middle of the page, surrounded by bright flowers and more frogs, another figure set towards the right of the page, in a stripey shirt and blue jeans.

“It’s beautiful, sugarplum, who’s that in the corner? It don’t look like anyone I know.”

“You do know him, Daddy, it’s Hanzo..”

“Hanzo?” Leo drew a picture of Hanzo but not him? He did feel somewhat jealous, a small wave of embarrassed heat passing over his cheeks at the idea of being jealous over such a tiny thing when he knew he had hundreds of pictures done by Leo of him.

“I liked his t-shirt and he told me he drew too so I wanted to draw this one for him but we haven’t seen him yet..” 

“Well, that’s awful kind o’ ya, pumpkin, maybe we’ll see him again and you’ll get to give it him, huh?”

Leo nodded, looking over at the fridge. “That’s the one I did last week,” he pointed out, looking at the drawing stuck up with magnets.

“Yeah, loved it so much thought it’d be better in the kitchen rather than my bedroom, I want everyone who comes in to see it.” 

Leo nodded again, holding his drawing closer to him. “Can we go to the park today? And the pet shop too? Mr. Lúcio told me they had new frogs and he wanted me to go see them.”

“You’re awful interested in frogs all o’ a sudden, ya like ‘em?” Jesse asked, setting him down and quickly finishing up the dishes. “I mean, sure we can go, but I didn’t know ya were into frogs.”

“I like Mr. Lúcio’s frogs, they feel funny and they make funny noises..”

“Well how about we go have a look at ‘em then?” Jesse smiled, looking over at him, “you go get your shoes on and I’ll get my wallet, okay? We can stop for ice cream.”

Leo smiled and nodded, putting his drawing on the table and running off to get his shoes on, the small tap of his feet getting quieter as he got to the door, making Jesse smile to himself as he grabbed his wallet off the side, picking up the drawing off the table and carefully folding it up, pushing it into his jeans back pocket and following Leo to the door, grabbing his keys as he went.

“Need any help with ya shoes, honeybee?” Jesse asked, sitting down next to Leo and pulling on his shoes, helping Leo fasten his shoes properly. 

Jesse got up, holding his hand out for Leo, who took it and pulled himself up. Jesse opened the door, leading Leo out and closing and locking the door behind him, starting to walk down the path with Leo, taking shorter steps so Leo could keep up. 

Living in California had perks, there was always something near and walking into the centre of the city was easy, even for Leo, who did get tired easily. Jesse specifically picked somewhere close to a good school for Leo and somewhere that was close to his parents. Jesse had a truck but it wasn’t used for big journeys, his work was about a 20 minute drive so his truck was needed for stuff like that. He bought the truck a few months before he got Leo, it was an old 1994 Chevrolet pickup, a dark red one that Jesse fell in love with as soon as he saw it. He had been saving for something, he hadn’t been sure what he wanted to spend his first few paychecks on but when he saw the truck, he knew. He bought it and christened it his ‘Bessie’. The paint had chipped over the 6 years he owned it, small dents covering the front and back, marker pen inside from some of Leo’s more artistic dealings. It wasn’t perfect but it was his. 

Jesse whistled as they walked, squeezing Leo’s hand and smiling when he squeezed back. It was warm, Jesse made the right choice to not bring a jacket with him, just in dark blue jeans and a red flannel, his signature cowboy hat settled over his dark hair. 

“If ya get too warm, tell me and I’ll carry ya coat, okay?” He asked Leo, leading him over a crossing and taking a right turn towards the parks.

“I will but can we go to the pet shop first, please?” Leo asked, looking at the park and then up at Jesse, his honey-brown eyes wide. 

“Ya don’t gotta use those puppy eyes on me, sugarplum, course we can go there first, ya excited to see those frogs?” Jesse asked, smiling and leading Leo back along the path and down towards the pet store on the next street over. 

Leo nodded, gripping Jesse’s hand tightly. Jesse hadn’t seen Leo express his love for anything as much as he had seen for these frogs, except drawing but that wasn’t a living thing. It warmed Jesse’s heart to hear and gave him possible birthday ideas for Leo, it was coming up next month and he just didn’t know what to get the boy. He had ideas for small presents like some new drawing stuff and these new shoes he’d shown Jesse but nothing big, no main present that he’d be over the moon with. Frogs might just be the answer to his question. 

Obviously he’d have to do loads of extra reading and probably properly talk to this Lúcio guy and the people at the pet shop to make sure he was making the right decision with buying a frog or frogs, but he was prepared to do it for Leo. 

Jesse had actually stopped walking as he thought, only realising after Leo had tugged on his hand gently, pointing over to the pet shop over the road.

“Papa, we’re here, lets go.”

“Oh, sure, sorry, sweetpea, jus’ got lost in my own head then, let’s go see some frogs, huh?” 

Leo nodded, practically vibrating with excitement as he started to walk, pulling Jesse along as he went. Jesse followed, crossing the road with him and moving to the shop, opening the door for Leo and following him in.

He’d only been to the store once before when he was dog sitting Bailey and King for his parents and they needed new food but the only food they’d eat was this special, expensive kind that supermarkets didn’t sell. It was how he remembered it: loud, funny smelling but exciting. There were tanks and large open enclosures full of every kind of pet: dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, rats, mice, ferrets, fish, lizards, birds, and what they came here for, frogs. Leo looked around, eyes darting between every tank to find what he was looking for, letting go of Jesse’s hand and rushing forward when he saw the large range of frogs tanks sat towards the back of the store. 

“Hey, Leo, come back!” He called, trying to rush after him but getting stuck behind a family who’d brought their 3 dogs into the store with them. It took Jesse 2 minutes to get around, thanking and petting the dogs as they moved out of the way. He then quickly made his way over to the frog tanks, frowning as he couldn’t see Leo.

“Leo? Honeybee, ya about?” Panic slowly started to fill Jesse, rushing between isles. He went around the last isle, stumbling slightly as he bumped into someone.

“Excus--”

“Mr. McCree? Are you alright?” A familiar voice asked, royal tones set into their voice.

Jesse looked down, blinking a few times when he saw Hanzo holding a pet carrier in one hand, a fat looking frog in the other. 

“Have you seen Leo? I got stuck behind some dogs and he rushed over here to see those frogs and I can’t find him anywhere, I don’t want him gettin’ lost and now I can’t find him and he ain’t good when he’s left on his own and--” Jesse was cut off by a small cry of “Daddy! Look!”

Jesse looked behind Hanzo, relief flooding him when he was Leo, a large, green frog sat in his tiny hands, cupped together to keep it calm and relaxed. The boy looked up at Jesse, a large smile on his face as he lifted his hands slightly higher, as if emphasizing that he did actually have a frog in his hands.

“Hey, look at you! That critter seems right at home in your hands, don’t he?” Jesse smiled, moving over and stroking a hand through Leo’s hair, “but what did I tell ya about runnin’ off like that, honeybee? Ya scared me half to death, it’s darn lucky Hanzo here found ya yknow.” 

“Sorry, Daddy.. but I wanted to see the frogs..” 

“I know, I know, angel, and it’s okay but jus’ remember not to run off next time, okay?” 

“Okay, Daddy, sorry.” 

Jesse smiled warmly down at his son, kissing his head gently and standing back up straight, looking over at Hanzo, who was looking into the carrier he was holding.

“Whacha got there, Hanzo?” 

The young man looked up from his carrier, slowly turning it around to show one bright tangerine lizard and one soft lavender lizard. One was slightly larger than the other but both were relatively small, their faces close to the cage opening. 

“These are my leopard geckos, Tsuki and Taiyo, they’ve just come for a small check up, they’ve been shedding a lot recently and I wanted to know if that was normal for them,” Hanzo told him, smiling slightly as he watched the two lizards climb over each other. 

“They’re awful pretty, didn’t see you as much of a lizard type, more o’ a cat person I think,” Jesse answered, smiling and looking into the cage, chuckling softly as they stumbled over each other to get back to the front of the cage, looking back up at Hanzo.

He hadn’t had chance to look over the man, wearing a slightly more revealing outfit but Jesse found it suited him pretty much perfectly. He was wearing high waisted black shorts with black fishnet tights showing off his pale legs, fitting into black Dr Martens. He wore a plain white button-up shirt and red, circular sunglasses hung from the top pocket on his shirt. His hair was pulled back into the same bun he’d seen when Hanzo baby sat Leo. He looked amazing, and young. So young that Jesse felt too old to be oogling him, he looked away with his cheeks considerable warmer than before. 

“Hanzo..? Can I hold your lizards..?” Jesse turned around, looking down at Leo with a big grin. He’d asked someone he barely knew to hold their pets. That, for Leo, was a massive step forwards, Jesse had to stop himself from shedding a tear there and then.

“Of course, although you’ll have to hold them one at a time, they like to spread out so two hands if better for one of them.”

Leo nodded, gently setting the frog back into his tank, closing the enclosure and waving to it, moving back over to Hanzo, cupping his hands and holding them out.

“Which one would you like to hold?” Hanzo asked, kneeling down and opening the cage, taking both the lizards out and keeping them in his fists. 

Leo looked between them, slowly pointing to the bright orange one in Hanzo’s right hand. 

“This one is is Taiyo, that means sun in my native language. He’s the younger one and Tsuki is his older sister,” Hanzo told him as he gently set Taiyo down in Leo’s hands. 

“He might be a bit restless at first because he doesn’t know you but he’s quite tired from the appointment so he’ll be okay.”

Leo nodded as Hanzo spoke, eyes wide as he stared at the lizard in his hands that just stared right back at him. Taiyo’s tail whipped to the left suddenly, making Leo jump slightly.

“He’s a bit grumpy, that’s all, Leo, don’t worry about him,” Hanzo told him, smiling and stroking a finger over Taiyo’s back gently, calming the lizard down. 

“He’s a pretty colour,” Leo told him quietly, smiling as he watched Hanzo stroke Taiyo’s back, “I have a crayon at home that’s the same colour as him.”

Hanzo laughed softly, nodding. “He once got into my painting set and covered himself in green paint, it took weeks for me to get it off his scales and he still hasn’t learnt, I found him in my paint set last night.”

Leo giggled quietly, lifting Taiyo up slightly to show Jesse, blushing as he saw Jesse taking pictures on his phone.

“Daddy, stop it.”

“Aw, c’mon, honeybee, you look great with him!” Jesse grinned, taking a few more pictures before pushing his phone back into his pocket,

“Oh, I hadn’t realised the time, I’m supposed to meet my brother for lunch in 15 minutes, I’m afraid I must cut this short,” Hanzo told them, setting Tsuki back in her cage and gently lifting Taiyo from Leo’s hands, putting him back into his cage, smiling slightly as he saw Leo wave to them.

“Thank you for being so careful with them, they’ll warm up to you in no time,” Hanzo smiled, patting Leo’s shoulder gently, getting up and looking over at Jesse, “I’ll see you around, Mr. McCree.”

“Jesse is fine, darlin’.”

“Alright.. Jesse,” he smirked, slowly heading out of the store, waving to Leo as he left. 

Jesse sighed softly as he watched him go, blushing slightly and pulling his hat off, running his hand through his hair, setting his hat back down on his hat.

“Daddy, can we go to the park now?”

“We sure can, cupcake, we sure can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> might make updates a bit more regular?? i dont know yet ):


	4. Second Sitting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i cant stick to upload schedules so heres another chapter, i think the fic should be about 9 chapters long, i've just finished writing chapter 7 now and im moving swiftly on to 8!!
> 
> im going to fully upload the fic as soon as i finish it, so if i finish it in the next week, which i actually might do, then i'll fully post it all as a lovely holiday gift to all of u

Jesse hadn’t intended on working that night. He had planned a big movie marathon with Leo with all his favourite Disney films: Lion King, Mulan, Moana, and Treasure Planet. Jesse had planned to order them a pizza and buy some ice cream for them and just to cuddle up under Leo’s favourite blankets and enjoy the night. But no. Obviously the night he has stuff planned, he gets an emergency call from the bar. Two big parties coming in tonight and they were short staffed. He was offered double pay, then it was raised to triple when work got another call from a sick employee. Triple pay, only 5 hours of work. 6 til 11, like the last 3 weekends. Jesse was honestly getting pretty tired of it. 

He wasn’t a weekend worker, he made that clear when he agreed to work for the bar, telling them that he had a son who would come first at the weekends. The lunch and late afternoon shifts were enough for him and Leo to live happily, sometimes scraping the bottom of the barrel when Leo got sick or his truck needed repairs, but they did well any other time of the year. Money was never really an issue and Jesse wanted to keep it that was for Leo. Leo deserved that. So Jesse knew that accepting five hours of triple pay would do them good but imagining Leo’s face when he’s told that Jesse has to go in and bail on their movie night broke Jesse’s heart, and he hadn’t even told him yet. 

He had already called up Hanzo, asking if he could come and watch Leo for the five hours, telling him that food and drinks were already here so he could eat if he wanted to. He told Hanzo that it was going to be a movie night, if that was okay for him to join and Hanzo sounded excited by the idea, telling Jesse that it had been a while since he’d sat down and watched films. 

Jesse ended the call feeling slightly better, heading upstairs and changing into his usual work outfit: white shirt, black dress pants, tight waistcoat and a bowtie. He didn’t like the bowtie much but he didn’t complain too much about it. He thought real ties would be better but his boss disagreed. 

He slowly made his way to Leo’s room, knocking quietly before heading in, his chest feeling too tight, his heart weighing too much in his chest. 

Leo was sat on his bed, pyjamas already on, his feet covered in paw print socks, an arrangement of stuffed toys sat in front of him. He turned his head to see Jesse, his smile instantly fading when he saw Jesse’s uniform. 

“Where are your pyjamas..? You won’t be comfortable like that, Daddy,” Leo told him, taking hold of the paw of his lion plushie.

“I’m sorry, honeybee, but.. but I got called into work again, I can’t stay and watch those movies with ya tonight, sweetpea.”

“But.. Daddy, you promised.. you said we could watch them..” his frown grew, Jesse knew his eyes were filling with tears from the way he spoke. 

Jesse quickly made his way over, scooping the boy up in his arms, along with the lion plushie given to him by Reinhardt last summer.

“Oh, pumpkin, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry but I gotta go in, I called Hanzo to come look after ya whilst I’m gone, he’s real excited to be watchin’ ‘em with ya,” he told him softly, brushing Leo’s curls off his forehead, kissing the soft skin there. 

“But.. it’s not the same without you, Daddy.. do you really have to go?” Leo cuddled closer to Jesse’s chest, holding on to the lapels of his waistcoat, sniffling quietly as Jesse stroked his fingers through his hair. 

“I do, baby, I’m real sorry, how about we do another one tomorrow mornin’? I’ll move the TV up to my room and we can stay in bed and watch the movies you wanna watch, that sound okay, buddy?” 

Leo nodded, pushing his face into Jesse’s shirt, holding his lion closer to his side. Jesse sighed softly, kissing his head gently, then kissing the lion’s head, smiling when he felt Leo smile against his chest.

“Can Hanzo bring his lizards with him?” Leo asked, his voice slightly muffled by Jesse’s shirt. 

“I haven’t asked him, but I’m sure he’ll have pictures o’ ‘em on his phone. Geckos gotta be kept warm by a lamp and we don’t got one o’ those, honey, so they’d be too cold here.” Jesse had absolutely no idea if that was true, it must have sounded true enough because Leo nodded, pulling back from Jesse’s chest and picking up his third largest frog plushie. 

“I’ll let Hanzo hold Mr. Jumpy, he might get sad if he isn’t with his lizards.”

“That’s very kind o’ ya, sweetpea, I’m sure he’d love to cuddle Mr. Jumpy.”

Jesse looked up when he heard the knock at the door, smiling and getting up, carrying Leo in his arms downstairs. He set him down in the hallway, heading over to the door, and opening it.

Hanzo was stood there, a small smile on his face as he saw Jesse. He wore dark navy trackpants, two white stripes down either side, a white jumper with a small patch of stars embroidered on to the breast of the jumper. His hair was in his usual bun, messier than Jesse had seen it, his hands holding a plastic shopping bag. He looked.. ready for a movie night. And Jesse loved it.

“Howdy, sweetpea, come on in,” Jesse told him, moving out of the way of the door, letting Hanzo walk into the foyer. “Glad ya could make it on such short notice.”

“It’s my job, Jesse, you’re the only person who actually calls me for babysitting,” Hanzo smiled, waving to Leo, who waved back using his frog plushie’s hand. Jesse noticed the small blush covering Hanzo’s cheeks when he called him ‘sweetpea’.

“Yeah well.. well that don’t matter. I gotta go. Films are all set up, pizza is on its way, money is on the side in the kitchen and blankets are in my room, Leo can show ya if there’s anythin’ ya need, okay?”

Hanzo nodded, taking his shoes off and setting them near the door. “Yes, that’s fine, have a good night.”

“You too,” he smiled, kissing Leo’s cheek and gently setting him down, pulling on his shoes and waving as he headed out the door, leaving the pair in silence. 

Leo stayed watching the door for a few seconds before looking up at Hanzo. “Did.. did you bring your lizards?”

“My lizards?” Hanzo asked softly, looking down at Leo, slowly shaking his head, “I didn’t, I’m sorry.”

“You can hold Mr. Jumpy then, I don’t want you to miss them too much,” Leo told him, nodding and holding out the frog plushie for Hanzo take.

“That’s very kind of you, thank you, Leo.”

“That’s okay, I’m gonna go get Froggles and then we can watch the films.”

Hanzo nodded, watching him head off upstairs, smiling and squeezing the plushie in his hands, heading into the kitchen. He got himself a glass of water and poured Leo a glass of chocolate milk from the bottle he had brought for the boy. He had been told last time that the boy enjoyed it but he didn’t often have it so he thought it’d be a nice treat for Leo since Jesse couldn't be here. He took the drinks into the living room, setting them on coasters and sorting out the film to the beginning. 

Leo came back downstairs with another frog plushie, this one being bigger than the last and bright pink. He also had a big yellow jumper under his arm. 

“Papa said to give you this if you get cold, it’s one of his jumpers but he was embarrassed to give it you because he didn’t know if you’d want to wear it because I said he smells so it’s your choice.”

Hanzo just nodded, smiling and taking the jumper from him, sitting back on one side of the sofa. “Thank you, Leo. Is that Froggles? I love his colour.”

“Froggles is a girl, Hanzo, she’s pink.”

“But I wore pink the other day and I’m not a girl, boys can wear pink too. Anyone can wear pink.”

“Are you sure? Papa doesn’t wear pink,” Leo frowned, looking down at Froggles, brushing his hand over the soft fabric of her face.

“Does he have anything pink? Boys can definitely wear pink, anyone can wear any colour they want. What’s your favourite colour, Leo?”

“I like red and green, and yellow.” He nodded as he listed the colours, sitting down next to Hanzo and pulling one of the blankets over him, looking up at Hanzo when he had finished, “what’s your favourite colour?”

“I like blue and pink, green too. My brother’s favourite colour is green, his name is Genji.”

“I haven’t heard that name before. Is it a real name?”

“Yes,” Hanzo chuckled softly, “me and my family are from Japan which isn’t near America, we have different names to you and your Papa. Like, your father’s name is Jesse, but my father’s name is Sojiro.”

“I haven’t heard that name before either, I prefer your brothers name, he sounds like a ninja. Can we watch Treasure Planet first please?”

The rest of the night went without a hitch. The pizza came and they managed to finish it all between them. It was apparently Leo’s favourite, 4 cheese, but with some spicy bits thanks to Jesse’s preferred taste. Hanzo ate the spicy bits and Leo had the cheesiest bits, which is what Leo and Papa usually did, Hanzo learned. They drank their milk and Hanzo cried at the ending of Moana because of the animation but Leo said it was because he thought Moana was going to die fighting the giant lava monster. They ate the ice cream stashed in the fridge, Leo even finding Jesse’s secret hoard of caramel chocolate, convincing Hanzo to have some with him. They stayed cuddled on the sofa until Leo started to yawn. 

Hanzo carried him up to bed, tucking him in and sitting with him for a few moments before getting up to leave when he felt a small tug on the back of his jumper.

“Can you stay with me for a little bit? Daddy always stays until I fall asleep,” Leo whispered, holding on to Hanzo’s jumper.

Hanzo nodded as he moved back to sit down on the edge of Leo’s bed, gently stroking his hand through Leo’s hair, smiling to himself as they boy closed his eyes and pushed his head into Hanzo’s touch.

“I think Daddy likes you.”

Hanzo froze, slowly looking down at Leo, a small frown on his face, “what do you mean?”

“Like a crush, he talks about you sometimes, he likes your clothes and thinks you’re pretty. He told me he wanted to go on dates but no one ever wants to go on a date with Daddy which isn’t fair because he’s the best.”

“I don’t doubt he is, Leo, but maybe your daddy should tell me himself, okay? He might not like me.”

“Maybe.. oh, I drew you a picture! It’s on my desk,” Leo pointed over to the messy desk, covered in crayons and pieces of paper, some used and some fresh. 

Hanzo got up, moving over to the desk and picking it up, smiling as he looked over it. “It’s beautiful, Leo, thank you very much.”

“Daddy was jealous I drew you at Grandma Ana’s and Opa Reinhardt’s and not him.”

“He was? How about I drew you a picture for next time I see you, how’s that?”

“Can you draw frogs?”

“I can try, maybe I could draw my lizards for you?”

“Yeah, thank you, Hanzo,” he ended with a yawn, settling back in bed.

Hanzo moved back over to the bed, sitting down and gently stroking his fingers through Leo’s hair until he knew the boy was asleep, tucking Froggles slightly closer to Leo before heading back downstairs.

Hanzo settled on the sofa, pulling his phone out and scrolling through the messages Genji had sent him about his date. He replied to a few before the yellow jumper caught his eye. He didn’t need to wear it, it wasn’t cold and he was wearing his own jumper. He didn’t need it.

But his eyes kept drifting to it every now and then. Hanzo sighed, more annoyed with himself than anything else, moving over and pulling off his own jumper, slowly pulling Jesse’s own on to him. 

It smelt of him. It smelt of Jesse, which made Hanzo’s cheeks burn. Obviously it smelt of Jesse, it was his jumper. But it smelt like the cologne Jesse wore to work, which Hanzo liked. It smelt vaguely of cinnamon, maybe his shampoo? Hanzo rolled his eyes as he pulled the jumper down slightly, laying back on the sofa, pulling one of the blankets up to his waist. 

“He likes me, huh? Hmm,” he mumbled to himself, locking his phone and curling up on the sofa. 

Jesse didn’t expect to find Hanzo curled up on his sofa in one of his favourite jumpers with a blue star patterned blanket tucked around him. It wasn’t an unwelcome sight but it wasn’t one he thought he’d be seeing.

He did expect the empty pizza boxes and other clutter, including his favourite chocolate, or lack of his secret stash, he’d be having words with Leo for that one. 

Jesse sighed softly, smiling as he quickly cleaned up, turning the lights off and moving over to Hanzo, then stopping. Should he leave him? Would it be weird to move him? Should be wake him up? Jesse frowned slightly, looking down at Hanzo, frown changing into a warm smile when he saw him cuddled closely in on himself. Fuck. 

He stayed still for a few more moments, hands outstretched towards before making his mind up and gently picking him up, being careful not to wake him before carrying him upstairs into Jesse’s room. 

Jesse set Hanzo down on the large double bed, frowning slightly when he saw Hanzo still in pants.

“I can’t take ‘em off him, that’s crazy weird, but.. what if he’s uncomfortable? No, no, no, no, you ain’t takin’ ‘em off,” he scolded himself, tugging the covers up and over Hanzo, sighing softly. 

Jesse sat down next to Hanzo’s head, reaching down and gently taking his hair out of the hair tie, running his fingers through it slowly, freezing when he saw Hanzo roll over, his jumper covered arms wrapping around Jesse’s right thigh. 

“Oh fuck..” Jesse gently tried to pry him off, frowning as Hanzo gripped tighter. He pulled off his bowtie and waistcoat, unbuttoning his shirt slightly before pulling it over his head and slowly moving down to join Hanzo in bed.

“This’ll be fun to explain when he wakes up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dang jesse wyd
> 
> let me know if theres any errors bc i have no beta ):


	5. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> early update bc i literally will not have any time at the weekend to do it so here you go!!

Hanzo woke up pressed against a warm chest, sighing softly and pressing closer into the soft bed and source of warmth at his side. He stayed put for another 10 minutes before slowly sitting up and stretching his arms over his head, looking down and freezing when he saw Jesse led on the other side of the bed, panic setting in. There was a small patch of drool on his shoulder. He quickly wiped his mouth and felt his cheeks burn when he realised that the small, wet patch had come from his mouth. Hanzo took thanks in the fact that he’d awoken first and didn’t have the awkward conversation with Jesse about it all.

Hanzo looked down to see the yellow jumper, humming softly in remembrance of his own jumper left downstairs. He slowly got up as to not wake Jesse, tying his hair up again and listening to the quiet clattering coming from downstairs. Intrigued, Hanzo headed downstairs only to find Leo sat on the kitchen floor with seven or eight pans surrounding him and a mess of eggs and flour up on the counter. 

“Leo? What are you doing down here?” Hanzo asked softly, smiling and making his way over to the boy who looked up and over at him, starting to pick up the pots.

“I wanna make pancakes for daddy but I don’t know which one to use,” he replied, pushing one of the pots towards Hanzo, frowning as he pushed it. 

“I can help you if you’d like, we can make your daddy a breakfast in bed, how does that sound?” Hanzo remembered himself as a young child and wanting to do the exact same for his mother, always waking up early and running to the kitchen to make a mess and a simple breakfast of burnt toast and rice, if he was using a chair to reach the machine. The family cooks would help him sometimes, making a easy miso soup and rice for her as opposed to his food which couldn’t compare really. Hanzo always told her that he was the one to make everything despite getting all the help and she always seemed to impressed, telling him he was wonderful and that he was obviously going to be a chef for his job when he grew up. 

Hanzo missed his mother, she passed when he was young and being raised by his father was difficult. He didn’t understand Hanzo’s need to study art, the need to move away from home and live somewhere that wasn’t Japan. His father cared about his business and how that was going to survive, he was furious when Hanzo told him he was leaving to study art in America. It had been a few years since he moved to California and his relationship with his father had gotten a lot better, he’d even flown out to see one of Hanzo’s pieces which had been displayed in the college and later the local art gallery, which Hanzo had been delighted at. 

His father was a stern man, Hanzo had always known this. He loved his family and he was distraught when Hanzo’s mother passed away, keeping himself locked away from the two brothers which left them to deal with the situation on his own. It took weeks before Sojiro had come and spoken to the boys, apologizing to them and vowing to spend more time with them as a father. Which he did, for a while before he was sucked back into his work, leaving the two boys on their own again. 

Hanzo was brought back from his thoughts when he felt a small tug on his, on Jesse’s, jumper, looking down and seeing Leo who was holding a bowl in one hand. 

“Do we use this one?”

“We certainly can.”

It took them around 30 minutes for the pair to finish making the pancakes, plating them up on to a tray along with a mug of black coffee for Leo’s sleeping father. Hanzo helped the young boy carry the tray upstairs then let him carry the tray by himself into Jesse’s room where they could be left to enjoy breakfast. 

Leo padded over to the side of Jesse’s bed, pushing the tray on the bed and climbing up, being careful not to knock the tray over in the process. He shifted over and put his hands on Jesse’s shoulder, gently shaking him, shaking harder when he saw his father begin to stir slightly.

“Daddy, wake up, I made breakfast!”

Jesse slowly opened his eyes, rubbing the heel of his palm into them both as he sat up, being pleasantly startled when he saw Hanzo leaning against the doorframe, still in Jesse’s bright yellow jumper, the sleeves rolled up slightly showing his dainty wrists. He smiled and watched Hanzo blush, before grinning and looking down at Leo, leaning down and giving him a kiss on the forehead. 

“Good mornin’, sweetpea, what’s this about you makin’ me breakfast, huh?” Jesse asked, watching Leo shift to the side to show the not so well hidden tray behind Leo. Jesse’s grin grew wider, picking Leo up and hugging him, pressing kisses against his face, laughing when the boy squealed and pushed his hands into Jesse’s face, pressing him away.

“Pumpkin, you treat me so well! You make all this yourself, huh?”

“Nope, Hanzo helped me! He did all the stuff with the pans and fire but I made the pancake mix!” Leo told him, looking back at Hanzo then down at the tray, pointing to the various elements on the tray, “Hanzo added the fruit too, I told him we had it.”

Jesse looked over at Hanzo for a second time, smiling at him and tipping his head forward slightly. “That’s awful kind o’ ya to help, Leo’s pretty hard to say no to when he wants to do somethin’, huh?”

“It’s no trouble, it was only pancakes,” Hanzo replied, looking over at Jesse after tucking a piece of hair behind his ear. “I’ll leave you two to eat in peace.”

“Hey now, you ain’t gotta go, we’ll take this downstairs and I can return the favour, Leo’s gotta eat too, ain’t no trouble on my part to make you some food since you stayed over, can’t let you go home hungry.”

Hanzo stayed quiet for a moment before nodding slowly, “alright, I’ll leave you to get dressed,” his eyes trailed down to Jesse’s bare chest before flicking his eyes back up and turning on his heel, heading out of the doorframe and downstairs.

Jesse felt his cheeks grow hot when Hanzo’s gaze move, glancing down at himself before watching Hanzo leave the room, sighing softly and laying back in the pillows, pulling Leo down with him. 

“I like Hanzo, he’s cool, he has a brother too, can I have a brother, daddy?” Leo asked, looking at Jesse but keeping closely cuddled in his arms.

“I ain’t too sure about that, petal, maybe at some point, c’mon, let’s head downstairs and get you some food,” he smiled, kissing the top of his head and letting Leo up before getting up himself and pulling on a clean t-shirt and a pair of joggers, picking up the tray with one hand and following Leo out the room, taking Leo’s hand when he reached for it, helping him down the stairs.

Jesse let Leo lead him back into the kitchen, setting his tray on the counter, taking the coffee and taking a long drink of it, sighing softly.

“Is it alright? I’m not used to drinking coffee and Leo didn’t know how you took it,” Hanzo told him from where he sat at the kitchen table, already changed back into the outfit he had come in last night, Jesse’s jumper folded and left on the table next to him.

“It’s perfect, thanks, darlin’,” he smiled, lifting Leo up and setting him on the counter, setting his mug down and heading to the fridge. “Y’all want pancakes or fries eggs on toast? I ain’t got any bacon or anythin’ unfortunately.”

“Pancakes, please, daddy!” 

“Pancakes would be fine, thank you,” Hanzo told him, opening his phone and replying to a message, looking back over at Jesse.

“Pancakes it is, you want a drink, Hanzo?” Jesse asked, handing Leo a sippy cup filled with apple juice. He glanced back over at the younger man, watching him set his phone down on the table. 

“Tea if you have any, but I don’t mind making it if you’d like to start breakfast, I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

“Ain’t not trouble, honey, should be a box o’ loose leaf stuff in the cupboard above the kettle, it’s Ana’s, some hibiscus stuff, the strainer should be in there too.”

Hanzo nodded, getting up and brushing past Jesse to get to the cupboard, reaching in and getting the box along with the strainer. “Who’s Ana?” He asked softly, filling the strainer with the tea leaves.

“Next door neighbour, she’s a good buddy o’ my dads, her and her husband knew them when they were in the army, she’s taken on role o’ Leo’s grandma, loves the little tyke,” he smiled, filling the kettle up and setting it to brew.

“Oh? I didn’t know you had two fathers, I mean I assumed otherwise.”

“Nah, Jack and Gabe, they got me when I was young, grew up in Indiana for a while before we moved to Cali, they still live here but they’re on their seniors cruise, ain’t allowed to call it that though. Ana and Reinhardt moved to Cali a few years after Pa and Dad did, they’ve a daughter a lil’ younger than me. She lives in Switzerland with her girlfriend.”

“A big family then,” Hanzo smiled, glancing over at Jesse before reaching over him to pick up the kettle and fill the mug, gently placing the strainer in.

“I’d say so yeah, you got any family about? Leo told me you had a brother?”

“He’s called Genji, he likes green, daddy,” Leo told him, gripping his sippy cup tightly. 

“That’s right, I have a younger brother, he lives with me here, actually. My father is back in Japan with his business, my mother passed when I was young so it’s been just us three for a long while. I moved here when I was seventeen to start art college, Genji followed me when he turned 18.”

“Ain’t that been kinda lonely to leave all that family behind?”

“I left because of my father, he didn’t believe I should be studying art, called it a wasted career. I chose to pursue it anyway and it lead me here. I wanted to get as far away as possible, simple as that.”

“If you say so, honey, jus’ sounds lonely.”

“I have things to keep me busy, my art takes up most of my time, Genji can be good company when he isn’t at the arcade or with his friends, and my job too.”

“Thought I was the only one you babysat for?” Jesse asked, looking over at Hanzo with a smirk, letting to grow when he saw the man blush and roll his eyes.

“You know what I mean.”

“Well you’re always welcome here, sweetpea, you got a friend in me and Leo.”

Hanzo’s face fell slightly, quickly covering the look and nodding with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, glancing over Jesse before back to his hands and his tea.

“Yes.. friends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bless hanzo's little cotton socks


	6. Unannounced Guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry its late!! its a bit longer than most chapters as a special special holiday treat

The last encounter left Hanzo feeling slightly bitter. 

It wasn’t that the company was bad, he enjoyed a lovely stack of American pancakes with a wonderful little boy and a handsome man who cared very much for said boy. He enjoyed a lovely cup of hibiscus tea, one of the best cups of tea he had had since moving to America. He had been driven home by said handsome man and called all sorts of things that made Hanzo’s heart clench like ‘sweetheart’ and ‘darling’ but with that irresistible Southern drawl that Hanzo found so charming and so.. attractive.

The bitter taste came with the use of the term ‘friend’.

Usually Hanzo is happy to have friends, he’s made friends at the college, like Satya who was in his art history class, or Amélie in his contemporary design class. He had friends, which he liked. But for Jesse to call him a friend.. it just didn’t settle well with him.

It had been a week since he had spent the night and the morning in the McCree residence and he missed it. He missed the warm atmosphere and the cozy rooms. He missed the pictures of family everywhere and the constant sound of other people. Hanzo felt ill walking back into his cold, sterile apartment that morning. He liked living freely, he liked being able to cook what he wanted, wear what he wanted, even listen to any music he wanted. But it just wasn’t a home, it was just somewhere to sleep and eat. Jesse’s house felt like a real home. 

Obviously, Hanzo knew he was insane. He’d only met the man three times, and slept in his bed, and had been cooked breakfast.. maybe he was over analysing this whole ordeal, but he felt like a real person with Jesse. He just felt alive.

But Hanzo hadn’t been called by the man to come back, he’d gotten a picture sent through to his phone when he was in a one of his watercolour classes of a picture of his lizards that Leo had drawn for him, which made his heart melt, but other than that, it was radio silence from the cowboy.

He finished up cleaning his station, washing the sculpting clay off his hands from his late afternoon workshop, picking up his satchel and heading out on to campus, flicking through the notifications on his phone as he walked home.

He could hear the loud music coming from the kitchen as he opened the door to his shared apartment, taking a deep breath and slowly heading inside, slipping his shoes off and lining them up on the rack before heading into the apartment.

“Genji?” Hanzo called, taking his jacket off and handing it on the coat rack, setting his bag down next to it. He called again, louder this time, sighing when he got no answer. 

Hanzo headed into the kitchen, watching the younger Shimada drink from the orange juice carton as he stood in front of the fridge in a ripped tank top and boxers. What a lovely sight to come home to.

Hanzo quickly turned the music off, feeling a headache already forming behind his eyes.

“Hey, I was listening to that, Hanzo, it’s polite to ask people when you turn their music off if you’re allowed to, which you aren’t,” Genji told him, going back to drinking from the carton. 

“Stop drinking from that, use a glass, Genji,” he sighed, moving forward to take the carton from him but stopped when Genji grabbed his hand and moved back slightly, still drinking.

“Genji. Give me the carton,” Hanzo tugged his hand out of Genji’s grip, reaching for it again, quicker this time but gritting his teeth when he was stopped a second time.

Hanzo quickly used his other hand to jab Genji in the side of his stomach, moving back as he sprayed orange juice out of his mouth and doubled over in pain, allowing Hanzo to take the carton off him and return it back to the fridge.

“You don’t have to be mean just because that cowboy hasn’t rang you back yet!”

Hanzo froze, turning to face Genji who was staring up at Hanzo from his pained position, “it’s true, Hanzo, just because you want some beefy American man, doesn’t mean you can take your weird sexual, repressed rage out on me. What would father sa--” He didn’t get chance to finish the sentence as he had started running, Hanzo chasing him with a bright red face.

Genji slammed his bedroom door shut, locking it from the inside with Hanzo banging on the outside.

“Get out here, Genji!”

“No! Just because you can’t handle the truth!”

“It isn’t the truth!”

“Sure! Sure, whatever you say, Hanzo!”

Hanzo groaned, clenching his hands into fists and storming off back into his room, slamming the door and falling face first on his bed, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. He gave himself five minutes before sitting up and taking another deep breath, redoing his ponytail and changing into a pair of leggings, pulling a sweater over his t-shirt. 

He moved over to Taiyo and Tsuki’s cage, smiling when he heard them rustling about in their tank and sliding the glass door open and moving his hand inside, letting the brother and sister climb up his sleeve, stroking a finger over each of their heads before moving back to his bed and sitting down, letting them curl around his hand and wrist.

“I’m guessing you two have had a better day than me,” he sighed, stroking Tsuki’s head gently, “you two don’t fight like me and Genji, do you?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at them, “is that what you do when I’m not here?”

He watched them blink up at him, Taiyo sticking her tongue out a few times before moving up his sleeve again, shifting to grip the soft fabric. He let them stay roaming around his jumper for a few more minutes before settling them back into their tanks, changing their water and feeding them. 

He stretched his arms over his head and sighed as he felt his back pop, jolting slightly when he heard his phone ring. He scrambled over to it, picking up after the first ring.

“Hello?” 

“Hey, sweetpea,” Hanzo felt his heart swell at hearing that sweet Southern accent.

“Jesse.. hi, is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, honey, I just got a call from work about a business party that’s supposed to be comin’ in tonight and they’re understaffed again, not to much surprise, huh? Think you’d be able to watch Leo tonight? Ana and Reinhardt are pickin’ my parents up from the airport tonight and the drive’s too long for Leo to go on. He don’t like the car too much.”

“Of course, I’d be happy to watch him, what time do you need me around?” 

“As soon as possible would be best, sweetpea, I know it’s awful short notice and I know ya got school work to do, it’s just I ain’t go--”

“Jesse. It’s not an issue. I’ll be over in 20 minutes, alright?”

“Darlin’, you’re a peach.”

“I’ll see you soon, Jesse,” he smiled, cheeks bright pink as he hung up, holding the phone close to his chest and closing his eyes. Yes!

Hanzo dressed quickly, changing out of his clay covered jeans into a fresh pair of black ones, rolling them up before pulling on a black t-shirt and tucking it into the waistline, fastening them with a belt before opening his wardrobe and tugging a red and beige plaid shirt out, pulling it on and rolling the sleeves up, pulling his hair up into a ponytail. He pushing his phone into his pocket, picking up the sketchbook sat on his desk before rushing out of his room and to the foyer, pulling on his black Converse. 

“Genji! I’m going out! Eat something without making a mess, please!” He didn’t wait for a reply before he headed out of the apartment, making his way to the McCree residence.

The walk wasn’t long but they were always a nervous ten minutes for Hanzo, ever since that first meeting with Jesse, he just couldn’t stop thinking about him. His honey voice, his easy laugh, his charming smile. As much as Hanzo hated to admit it, Genji was right about him. He did talk about Jesse with Genji, the younger Shimada teasing him at first but offering some genuinely good advice.

Hanzo ignored all of the advice that involved sleeping with him.

Well.. not completely, but he obviously wasn’t going to be telling Genji that anytime soon.

He spotted the bright red door, the lights on in the front room which brought a little smile to Hanzo’s face, crossing the street and heading up to the door, knocking twice. He quickly straightened his shirt, pulling a piece of hair down by the side of his ear, taking a deep breath and smiling when he heard footsteps up to the door, watching it open.

“Hey, honey, glad you could make it,” Jesse greeted him, stepping aside and letting Hanzo in, closing the door after him, “again, real sorry about the short notice.”

“It’s not a problem, Jesse,” he smiled, slipping his shoes off and setting them aside, waving over at Leo who was stood in the doorway of the kitchen, his smile growing when the little boy waved back at him, running over and hugging Hanzo’s left leg tightly.

Hanzo blinked down at him before running his fingers through Leo’s hair, “lovely to see you too, Leo.”

“Aw, y’all are gonna make me cry,” Jesse laughed, bending down to scoop Leo up in his arms, the little boy wrapping his arms around Jesse’s neck, smiling when Jesse pressed a loud kiss against his cheek. 

“Alright, I gotta get going, I’ll probably be back later than usual so feel free to take the spare room upstairs or my bed if it gets too late to head home,” Jesse told him, “there’s spag bol in the kitchen, garlic bread on the side, ice cream in the fridge, you know the drill.”

He kissed Leo’s temple gently, setting him down next to Hanzo, pulling his boots on. “I’ll see you two later, okay? Be good,” he smiled, winking to Hanzo before grabbing his keys and heading out.

Hanzo took a deep breath, letting the colour in his cheeks calm down before turning to Leo, smiling down at him. 

“How about we eat some dinner and then watch a film? Or would you like to do some drawing? I have a surprise for you,” Hanzo told him, taking his sketchpad out of his bag and kneeling down in front of Leo, opening the book to the right page and showing Leo the drawing he’d done.

It was of the frog Leo had held at the pet store when they’d met, he’d asked Jesse for the picture last week of Leo holding it and he got to work. He’d made the main focus the frog, the bright greens and the darker patches on it skins, the softer cream lines and the dark eyes. He’d drawn it in Leo’s hands, the small palms cupping the big animal. 

Hanzo watched Leo’s eyes widen, looking up at Hanzo then back down at the drawing, taking it from Hanzo and staring at it. “It’s the pet shop one..”

“Yes, your daddy sent me the picture and I know you asked me to draw one for you, I was going to keep it for your birthday but I couldn’t wait,” he told the boy, smiling when Leo gripped it tightly, blinking a few times as the boy threw himself at Hanzo to hug him tightly.

“I love it! Thank you, Hanzo!”

The night carried on without any hitch, they ate dinner together and watched a film that Leo had chosen, some animated Scooby Doo one, Hanzo actually found himself enjoying it. Leo kept close to Hanzo’s side through the film, Mr. Froggles in his arms and his orange frog plush, Henry, sat on Hanzo’s free side.

It got to near 8pm before Leo started yawning, letting Hanzo pick him up and taking him upstairs to his room, letting the boy get changed into his pyjamas as Hanzo got his bed ready, placing Mr. Froggles and Henry back in Leo’s little pile of hand selected frogs on his bed. He walked Leo to the bathroom to brush his teeth when he heard a knock at the door, causing Hanzo to stop and frown, glancing to the bathroom doorway.

A second knock came louder this time, more like a banging as opposed to a polite knocking. He looked over at Leo and sighed softly.

“I’ll go answer the door, you just finishing brushing your teeth, okay?” Hanzo told him, reassuring the little boy before heading downstairs to the front door, stopping and quickly opening it.

“I ain’t got all day to kept waitin’, McCree!”

Hanzo stared at the woman stood on the doorstep, opening his mouth to talk before closing it again. The woman had a steely, red gaze, staring right back at Hanzo, a dark wide brimmed hat pulled low over her eyes, a slightly snarl on her red lips.

“Who the hell are you?” She asked, biting accent changing her words, her arm folded tightly over her chest.

“I could ask you the same question,” Hanzo replied, keeping a tight grip on the door, his stance staring strong.

“Get out o’ the way, my business don’t concern you, where’s McCree?”

“He isn’t here, I’m afraid.”

The lady sighed heavily, clenching her hands into fists, moving forward and shoving past Hanzo, heading into the house. Hanzo slammed the door shut, recovering from the initial shove before quickly following after her.

“I already told you he isn’t here, who are you?”

“I ain’t answerin’ questions from you, just get him here,” she told him, smirking as she looked over the drawings stuck up on the fridge, “still got the little tyke, has he?” She scoffed, turning away and looking at Hanzo.

“You callin’ him or are ya just gonna stand there and look dumb?” 

Hanzo felt a hot flush run through his cheeks, taking his phone out and heading into the front room, dialling Jesse’s phone number, waiting the few ring tones before hearing Jesse answer.

“Hanzo? What’s up, sweetpea?” Jesse asked, hushed tone, the sounds of soft music and talking coming from his end.

“There’s a lady here to see you, she just came in and is demanding to see you.”

“A lady? What she look like?”

“White hair, pale skin, loud, strong accent similar to yours.”

“Oh.. oh shit.. okay, you just gotta leave her be, I’ll tell the boss now that I gotta head home, I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“Wait, Jesse, who is she? She won’t tell me.”

“I’ll explain everything when I’m home, just keep Leo away from her. That’s all I ask o’ ya, Hanzo.”

“Jesse--” Hanzo sighed heavily when he heard the dialtone, locking his phone and heading back into the kitchen, where the lady had Jesse’s bottle of whiskey in front of her.

“He comin’?”

“Yes, he’s talking to his boss now, he’ll be home soon.”

An awkward silence fell over the pair, the lady opening the whiskey and taking a long drink, setting the bottle back down and looking over at Hanzo. 

“So, who exactly are ya? Some random kid? Doesn’t answer the question o’ why you’re here.”

“I’m Leo’s babysitter.”

The lady scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Babysitter? That what Jesse’s callin’ ya? Some young thing he’s keepin’ at home and you tell me you’re a babysitter.”

“I am. I’ve been watching Leo for a few weeks now whilst Jesse’s been picking up more shifts at work,” Hanzo replied, gritting his teeth slightly as he spoke.

“So where is the little tyke, huh? He here?”

“He’s in bed.”

The lady smirked, a ugly look on her face as he eyes slid past Hanzo to the doorway to the kitchen, nodding slightly. Hanzo quickly span aorund to see Leo peaking out from the door way, staring at the woman.

“Leo, come on, let’s get you to bed,” Hanzo told him gently, walking over and holding out his hand to him.

The boy didn’t take it, just continued to stare at her, gripping the wooden doorframe tightly. 

“Leave him, his daddy’s gonna be home real soon, may as well let him stay up,” she told Hanzo, flicking her gaze to Hanzo before returning it to Leo.

“It’s past his bed time, we can wait to see your daddy upstairs, Leo, come on,” Hanzo spoke softly again, not turning to look at the woman, smiling when Leo reached out for Hanzo’s hand, holding it tightly and letting himself be lead back to his room.

“Why is she here?” Leo asked him quietly, looking up at Hanzo.

“You know her?” Hanzo looked down at him, helping him climb up the stairs and into his room.

“She used to live with me and daddy, but daddy made her leave.”

Hanzo nodded, immediately interested in the why, but keeping his questions for Jesse, he didn’t want to upset Leo another further. He lead the little boy back into his room, getting him into bed and tucking him in.

“Does daddy know she’s here?” Leo asked quietly, reaching for Mr. Froggles and gripping him tightly.

“Yes, I rang him a few minutes ago, he should be home soon.”

“Daddy’s gonna be upset that she’s here, he doesn’t like her, she shouts a lot. That’s why she had to leave.”

“it’s alright, Leo, I’m sure she won’t be an issue, alright? Your daddy knows what he’s doing,” a few moments of silence passed, “how about I read you a bedtime story?”

Hanzo spent the next ten minutes reading on the books of Leo’s shelf to him, sitting down on the bed and reading quietly using the lamp light. Leo had dozed off, allowing Hanzo to close the book and gently stroke his fingers through Leo’s hair, perking up when he heard the front door open and close.

He slowly got up, turning off Leo’s light and switching on his nightlight for him before slowly making his way downstairs, taking a deep breath before heading into the living room.

He saw Jesse stood with the lady, a scowl on his face. His eyes glanced over to Hanzo when he came in, the scowl going away for a moment.

“Hanzo.. I didn’t know you were still here..” Jesse told him, eyes darting between the lady and the younger man.

“I was just putting Leo back to bed, I’ll go home now, it’s alright,” he reassured him, picking up his bag from where it was leant against the sofa. 

“Can we get back to me now, McCree? I ain’t a fan o’ this whole soppy business, especially not with some kid,” the lady interrupted, glaring at Hanzo, “some babysitter, if that’s what you’re callin’ it, always knew you had a thing for younger men, that’s just why we didn’t work out,” she scoffed, sitting down on the sofa and folding her arms.

“He is a babysitter, shut up, Ashe,” McCree grumbled, clenching his hands into fists,

Hanzo hurried up in collecting his things, moving to pick up his sketchpad when a pale, red nailed hand got there first.

“Well, if he is just a babysitter, why’s he got pictures o’ you in here, huh, Jesse?” The lady, Ashe, asked, smirking and taking the book out of Hanzo’s grip, starting to flick through.

Hanzo went pale, reaching forwards for the pad but grasping the air when Ashe moved the pad out of his reach, face falling as she smirked at him. 

“Had a look before, hope you don’t mind, kid,” she added, stopping at a page, her smirk growing, “he’s really captured your smile, huh? I mean, the shirtless ones aren’t all that necessary, you’re givin’ him too much credit, kid, he don’t look like that.”

Hanzo grew red in the face, clenching his hand around his bag strap, “please just give it back, it’s private.”

“Oh? Private? Well.. they are of Jesse, don’t you think he should be allowed to see them?” She asked, turning the pad around to show the double page of drawings, mainly of Jesse, and half of them shirtless. Fine detail had been paid attention to every aspect of the older man, the flecks of gold in his eyes, the soft lines under his eyes when he smiled, the muscles covered in tan skin.

Hanzo reached over again, wrenching the book from her grip and slamming it shut, tears welling in his eyes as he headed for the door, quickly pulling his shoes on, ignoring Jesse’s calls for him to stop, feeling Jesse grab his arm but quickly ripping his arm out of his grasp.

He ran most of the way home, cheeks wet and vision blurry. He finally got home and burst inside, throwing his bag down and heading straight for his room, again, ignoring the calls for him to stop, from Genji this time.

He locked his room, led on the bed, and cried his heart out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the frog hanzo drew is a northern leopard frog if ur wondering 
> 
> and i actually love ashe and her character, she just worked as a bad guy in this story for me and o hold literally nothing against her !!


	7. Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year!! sorry for the late update, ive been busy with everything but im hopefully back on track with updates now, ive got a chapter 8 written and ill probably do a chapter 9 and that'll be it!! i'll be sad when it ends ):
> 
> anyway, enjoy this longer than usual chapter!

It took a few days before Hanzo was ready to talk to Genji about it, it took three days of crying and just feeling pretty shit about the whole ordeal, Ashe’s horrible face still burnt into his memory, Jesse’s calls for him to stop echoing in his head.

He did think maybe he was being too dramatic, he’d only known the guy for a month or so, and he was acting as if they had just broken up or something.

Genji had tried to help, he’d tried to help Hanzo feel better but it just wasn’t any good. His advice was just to move on, to go get drunk and get with some random guy he didn’t know and make himself forget about Jesse, and Ashe for that matter.

Hanzo hadn’t gone into his college classes for at least three days, he’d ignored all his projects and pieces for class, ignored his well-being; he hadn’t showered since. He only took care of his lizards, if they were happy then that was all Hanzo needed.

He was led in bed on the Thursday afternoon, eyes closed and breathing deeply, only faltering when he heard the front door open and then close a few moments after it. Genji had come home from his classes, he took fashion design and sounded passionate when he’d spoken to him about it, always going on about the materials and fabrics to Hanzo, explaining his pieces, and even getting Hanzo to model his designs so the younger could take pictures for his portfolio.

Hanzo could hear Genji pottering about in the kitchen, then heard his soft footfalls heading towards his room, taking a deep breath and releasing it when the gentle knocks came.

“Hanzo? I’ve got something for you.”

“Can it wait?”

“Come on, let me in.”

Hanzo sighed heavily, sitting up and pushing his hair back off his face and pulling it into a bun. “Come in.”

Genji slowly entered, holding up a sealed plastic cup with a neon orange straw sticking out of it, holding his other arm up and showing a white plastic bag hanging off of it.

“I got you some boba tea and that peach Pocky you like,” he smiled, shaking the bag slightly and heading over to his bed, sitting down next to him and handing him the drink, “it’s milk tea and mango.”

Hanzo took the drink silently, taking a sip and already feeling slightly better for it, the sweet milk tea and the even sweeter mango. He took the bag Genji was holding out to him, smiling as he pulled out the peach Pocky and raising his eyebrows at the boxed slice of cake.

“I just thought you could use a pick-me-up since the whole thing with that crazy woman,” Genji laid back on his bed, glancing over at the lizard tank and getting back up, heading over to it.

“Thank you.. it’s just been a hard week is all, I’ll be back to my normal self in no time.”

“Yeah, no I don’t want normal, moody Hanzo, I want fun Hanzo who actually enjoys living here and enjoys hanging out with people, who allows himself to be happy with people, even though he may feel like that relationship offer has been cut short,” Genji replied, opening the tank and holding his arms in, laughing softly when the brother and sister pair climbed up his arms, moving back to sit next to Hanzo.

“Genji, don’t be unreasonable, I can’t see him again after something like that. It was embarrassing. He.. you didn’t see the way he looked at me.”

“No, but I know you ignore all his phone calls, I can hear your dumb ringtone go off like 8 times a day, he wants to talk to you, Hanzo.”

“To tell me I’m disgusting and that I can’t see Leo anymore.”

“Oh my god, you’re so dramatic! Just answer the call and you’ll know that’s not true! And if it is, then I’ll like beat him up.”

“Genji!”

“Just talk to him, he might be just as upset that he hasn’t been able to speak to you as much as you’ve been upset that you can’t speak to him.”

Genji slowly moved Taiyo and Tsuki on Hanzo’s lap, stroking their heads a few times before getting the boxed cake out of the bag, opening it and taking a piece with his fingers.

“I thought you bought that for me?” Hanzo laughed weakly, watching Genji eat before looking down at his lizards and sighing heavily, stroking their heads.

“It’s called sharing, Hanzo.”

The pair went silent for a few moments before Genji offered him the cake, taking Tsuki and sitting him on his leg. “Will you answer the next time he rings you?”

Hanzo sighed softly, taking the box and moving it from Taiyo who was trying to climb into it. “Probably not.”

“But why not? At least give him a chance to explain who that woman was, he might not even like her! You said that they weren’t together.”

“Then why was she there? She was at his home, unannounced! She had no reason to be there and yet she was! Leo knew her! She said that they were together at one time!”

“At one time, you idiot! That means they aren’t anymore! Just answer the phone and let him explain. Hanzo, just give him a chance. I saw how happy you were being in his life, being in Leo’s life, don’t give that up because of something you haven’t even let him explain!”

“I can’t! I can’t.. Genji, he saw my drawings, she showed him my drawings of him, I can’t just come back from that,” he sighed, picking up Taiyo and Tsuki and moving back over to their cage.

“But why no--” a shrill ring tone cut Genji off, causing the two to turn around and stare at the phone on Hanzo’s bedside table.

Genji grinned, glancing back at Hanzo who still had two wiggling lizards in his hands. The younger leaped off the bed, scrambling over and picking up the phone, looking down at the screen name and letting his grin grow wider, answering the phone.

“Hello? Is this Jesse?”

Hanzo saw red, gently placing his lizards away and closing the cage, turning to face Genji, “give it back.”

“Hanzo? That you, honey? I’ve been tryna call you all week! I gotta explain what’s been goin’ on ‘cause my heads been a mess since I seen you all upset and runnin’ out on me!”

“I’m sorry but this isn’t Hanzo, it’s Genji, his younger brother. I’m afraid he’s busy at the moment but I am absolutely more than happy to tell him everything that you happen to tell me, Mr. McCree.”

Hanzo dived across the bed to make a grab for Genji, narrowly missing as the younger jumped backwards, starting to run towards the door, the elder quickly getting up and running after him, “Genji! Give me my phone!”

“Genji? Oh, yeah! Hanzo’s told me all about you, but just outta curiosity, where is Hanzo? I really gotta talk to him.”

“I know you do, but he’s being really very stubborn about this whole thing, Mr. McCree, it would be much easier if you just told me everything and I could relay everything to my brother,” He told him, sprinting down the corridor to his own room, slamming the door and quickly locking it, grinning when he heard Hanzo banging his fists against the wood.

“Genji! Genji, stop it! Open the door!”

“So.. Jesse, can I call you Jesse? What’s going on with you and my brother? Because he’s been awfully upset over this past week because of you and I’d love to know why.”

“Uh.. sure, Jesse’s fine with me. Look, this is really something I should be talkin’ to Hanzo about, I don’t want anything I say to be misinterpreted, okay?”

“I’ll have you know I’m very good at English, I’ll be fine.”

“I ain’t doubtin’ your English skills, I just wanna talk to Hanzo.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because I miss him! Leo misses him! The whole night went to the dogs and I ain’t even been allowed to explain why because he ain’t answerin’ my damn calls!”

“Who was that lady that came to your house?”

“The..? Oh, my ex, but that was a long time ago, I kicked her out because she abused my son, I don’t know how she found my address, but I left her behind when I moved to California.”

“And Hanzo doesn’t know this?”

“No! That’s why I want you to give him the phone, I can hear him shoutin’ and bangin’ around back there.”

“Wait, wait, I can’t give it you because he still isn’t ready to talk to you, he just doesn’t like me on his phone, or talking to the only person he actually thinks is hot. Just.. give him some time, okay? I’ll make sure he’s okay, but just give me some time.”

“Wait, what does that even mea--”

Jesse sighed heavily when the line went dead, letting his phone slip from his grip and into his lap, letting his head fall back on to the sofa. 

He scrubbed his hands over his face, holding them there for a moment before pulling them away, hearing Leo run in from the kitchen and move to join him sitting on the sofa.

“Did you talk to Hanzo?” Leo asked, looking down at Jesse’s phone then laying his head on his bicep.

“Nope, I got to talk to his little brother though, he’s a funny guy,” he told him, running a hand through Leo’s hair, “he said he was gonna talk to Hanzo for me.”

“Why doesn’t Hanzo wanna talk to you?”

“Because he’s still a lil’ upset about what happened, that’s all, honey, he’ll be okay after a little bit.”

“I miss him,” Leo mumbled, turning and pressing his face against Jesse’s soft plaid shirt.

“I know, cupcake, I miss him too,” he sighed, kissing the top of Leo’s head gently, “you wanna watch a movie?”

Leo nodded, keeping his head against Jesse’s arm. Jesse reached down and scooped him up, holding him against his chest as he got up to grab the remote, turning the TV on and loading some animated film up on Netflix.

Jesse rubbed a hand up and down Leo’s back as he watched, glancing down at the little boy and smiling when he realised he’d fallen asleep. It’d been a while since the pair had been able to sit down and just enjoy a bit of time together. Over the past few weeks the pair had had very little time to relax together, whether Jesse was getting extra shifts or Leo was over at Jack and Gabe’s to give Jesse a little time. They hadn’t sat down and watched a film together in a long time, well.. at least one of them was watching.

Jesse perked up when he heard muffled noises from out, then a knock, before the front door was swung open and his parents walked in, bags in hand.

“Jesse! You home?” Jack called out, poking his head round the living room door and smiling when he saw them, heading in, “hey, kiddo, how’ve you been?”

Jesse smiled in return, slowly getting up, keeping sleeping Leo in one of his arms before heading over and hugging Jack tightly.

“Pa here or you just come on your own?”

“He’s just getting the dogs out of the car, Leo hadn’t been over in ages, we thought he’d want to see them,” Jack told him, setting two of the plastic bags down on the table, “your dad wants to cook tonight as well if that’s alright, he’s got caught up in this new recipe book at home and wanted you to be the guinea pig for it all.”

Jesse chuckled softly when he heard barking and a few muffled curses, hearing the patter of paws as the two dogs rounded the corner, rushing over for Jesse, who knelt down and pet them, which slowly woke Leo up, who gasped upon being licked by Bailey.

“Grandpa!” Leo shouted, reaching out for Jack who scooped the little boy up in his arms, squeezing him tightly and kissing his forehead loudly.

“Hey, poppet, how’s my favourite grandchild been, huh?” Jack grinned, glancing over his shoulder when he heard Gabe come in.

“Abeulo!” Leo cried out, reaching out a hand for him but keeping his other arm tightly around Jack’s neck.

“Pollito!” Gabe laughed, moving over and kissing Leo’s outstretched hand gently before wrapping his arms around Jack and Leo, hugging them tightly.

“Jeez, y’all forget I exist too, huh?” Jesse commented, grinning when Gabe looked over at him, moving over and hugging him just as tightly, “of course not, hijo.”

Jesse held him in the hug for a few seconds longer, slowly letting go and nodding, “good, because I gotta talk to you two,” he told Gabe, lowering his voice and nodding once.

“Sure, let’s get some coffee first, let Leo run about with the dogs a bit, okay? Can it wait until you look like you aren’t going to pass out first?”

“Sure can, I’ll boil the kettle.”

Gabe nodded, pulling him in for another tight hug before letting him go and patting him on the shoulder, “we brought some cake for Leo, Jack’s been testing out all these crazy recipes.”

“Funny, he said the same thing about you,” Jesse chuckled, heading into the kitchen, stopping to stroke Bailey and King as he passed Jack and Leo. 

“Anyone want a drink?” Jesse called over his shoulders, smiling when he heard Leo shout for some chocolate milk and Jack for a coffee, Gabe following him into the kitchen.

Jesse quickly filled and set the kettle to boil, getting the cups out and getting them ready.

“How’s everything been? Ana said she hadn’t seen you in quite a while, she’s getting worried,” Gabe told him, leaning against the counter and folding his arms.

“Ana don’t need to worry, and if she is as worried as she’s tellin’ you she is, she gotta remember I live next door to her,” Jesse replied, looking over at his father.

“I guess so, you have been quiet though, this something to do with what you want to talk about?”

Jesse sighed softly and nodded, hearing the kettle boil and filling the mugs with hot water, getting the sugar out of the cupboard.

“My head’s just a lil’ confused about it all, need some wise words from y’all I guess,” Jesse poured some milk into each of the cups, handing Gabe a mug and taking a sip from his own, getting Leo’s chocolate milk out the fridge and pouring it into a cup for him.

Gabe stayed silent as he picked up Jack’s coffee, heading back into the living room and handing it him, smiling when Jack kissed his cheek.

“C’mon, Leo, how about we give Bailey and King a little run about out back?” Gabe asked, taking the boy off Jack and heading towards the back door, whistling and chuckling when he heard frantic scrabbling and the sound of paws clacking on the hard floor behind him.

Jesse watched Gabe and Leo head out back, closely followed by the pair of dogs running after them, smiling as he watched them go.

“Hey, you wanna come talk about what’s bothering you?” Jack asked, moving to his side and nudging him slightly.

“Wait, how did-- y’know what, I should know by now you always find stuff out.”

“I’m your dad, Jesse, of course I’m gonna know stuff,” Jack laughed, heading over and sitting down on the sofa, taking a drink of coffee.

Jesse followed suit, moving over and sitting down next to him, picking his phone up off the sofa, looking at the screen and sighing, he thought Hanzo would have at least text him after his call with Genji.

“Boy trouble?” Jack asked softly, glancing at the phone then back up at Jesse.

“Again, ain’t even surprised you know that.”

“And again, I’m your dad. That and you always used to mope about if you had boy trouble, you said girls were easier to talk to, which me and your dad were honestly amazed at.”

“He’s young, that’s my issue. He’s Leo’s babysitter, he’s a 22 year old art student and I just.. I don’t know what to do. It was goin’ well, we weren’t together or anythin’ like that but it was jus’ really nice and easy to be with him, but..”

Jesse stopped and took another deep drink from his mug.

“Ashe came for a visit, she found out where we were and she jus’ showed up whilst I was at work and Hanzo was here with Leo--”

“Hanzo? That his name?”

Jesse nodded, keeping his eyes on the cup in his hands.

“I was at work, Leo was here with Hanzo and she jus’ showed up outta nowhere, demanded I be here, made Hanzo ring me and get me outta work so I could come home. So obviously I came back, she’s still here, actin’ like she pays rent and all, Hanzo’s still here with no clue what in the hell is goin’ on, and y’know I say maybe he should go, but as he’s gettin’ his stuff, she grabs his like drawin’ pad and he’s got all these drawings o’ me in it and he’s angry, tryna get it off her and she’s teasin’-- ain’t even teasin’, just like bein’ a bitch and he finally gets his book and he’s cryin’ and I try and stop him, y’know like see if he’s okay but he just leaves, runs home. Ain’t heard from him in about four days but his little brother answered my call today and said he was gonna be alright, but.. I just wanted to talk to him about it, see if he’s alright.”

Jack nodded slowly, drinking from his now lukewarm coffee.

“Right, so you like Hanzo but you think 22 is too young, and you think Ashe ruined it all, like the bitch she is, and that Hanzo hates you?”

“Nail on the head.”

“And you haven’t spoken to him?”

“Nope, not even a peep.”

“Jesse, you know you’re only 28, that isn’t that big an age gap. Your dad’s 58 and I’m 54, that was a big gap when we were younger. And as for the no contact, people need time. He’s probably just embarrassed by the whole thing, you said yourself he ran off crying, that’s pretty normal. You’d be upset if someone you like saw all your personal drawings because of their ex.”

“I mean.. yeah, that’s true.”

“There you go then, four days isn’t a long time to get your head sorted out, best thing to do would be to give him some space, maybe just send him a text explaining that you understand he needs the time to heal and get his head together.”

Jesse nodded, finishing off his coffee and setting his mug on the table.

“His brother said he’d be okay after a while, said he’d talk to him about everythin’. Actually, I think dad might know his brother, he’s called Genji, Genji Shimada, takes fashion design at the college, I know dad does costume design but he might take the module?”

“You can ask, he might recognise the name,” he went quiet for a few moments, “c’mon, let’s go outside, you can talk to dad about it later, alright?”

Jesse nodded, getting up and stretching his arms over his head, feeling his back pop. He waited til Jack was stood before pulling him in a tight hug, pressing his face against Jack’s shoulder when he felt the other squeeze him close to his chest.

“You’ll figure it out, you always do. Does Leo like him?”

Jesse nodded against the soft fabric of his shirt.

“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Jesse nodded again, taking a deep breath before slowly pulling away from Jack and smiling.

“Thanks, dad.”

“Always, Jesse.”

The rest of the day was spent either outside with Leo and the dogs and in the kitchen helping Gabe in the kitchen making dinner for them. Gabe was easily the best cook out of all of them. Jesse had tried to cook when he was younger but he wasn’t fantastic at it, he’d gotten better for Leo’s sake but he just couldn’t cook like Gabe could.

Gabe slide over some peppers and onions to Jesse, handing him a knife, moving back over to cut the chicken.

“So, Jack tells me you’ve been having boy trouble.”

Jesse looked over at him then back down at the onions, picking up the knife and starting to chop.

“I mean, yeah, I am, but I’m guessin’ dad’s told you all o’ it anyway since you know.”

“Yeah, but he mentioned someone’s brother?”

“Oh, yeah, Hanzo has a younger brother, he’s called Genji, he does fashion design. I didn’t know if you kn--”

“Wait, Genji Shimada?”

“Uhh.. yeah, him.”

“Jesus, Jesse, he’s 17 years old!”

“What? No! No, dad! It’s his older brother I like! I just wanted to know if you knew him!”

Gabe set the knife down, holding himself up on the counter and taking a deep breath, shaking his head, “thank God.”

“I wouldn’t.. Dad, jeez.”

“Well, that’s fine then, I’ve seen Genji with someone who looks like him, but with long, black hair, guessing that’s Hanzo?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“Go for it, Jess, you deserve to be happy for once, alright? Seems like a good guy.”

“He is, he’s really great with Leo, really just.. yeah.. really great,” Jesse smiled, feeling his cheeks grow pink, looking back down at the chopping board.

“Jesus.. you sound like me,” Gabe laughed, looking over at him and nudging their shoulders together, “just invite him over and just explain what happened with Ashe.”

“I want to, but he won’t talk to me, Genji told me he’d be okay after a little while but.. I just wanna make sure he’s okay.”

“I can find out his class schedule and you can wait for him like after his class? You’d finally get a chance to talk to him.”

“Ain’t that illegal? Like leakin’ o’ his private information or somethin’?”

“Jesse, I’m a teacher, I’m allowed access to class schedules.”

“You don’t teach him!”

“Stop being a wimp, Jesse. I’ll tell you where to go and you can just talk to him,” Gabe moved the cut chicken into the frying pan, moving the onion Jesse had chopped into the same pan, taking the knife and quickly cutting the peppers up, adding them in.

“Abeulo! Can I help?” Leo asked as he ran in, hugging Gabe’s leg tightly, looking up at him.

“Actually, pollito, you can. You are now the head mixer, let me just wash my hands and then I’ll get you up here, okay?”

Leo nodded, letting go of Gabe so he could quickly wash his hands before lifting his arms up and grinning when Gabe bent down and lifted him up, kissing his cheek.

“Hey, pollito, you wanna tell your daddy here that he should go and talk to Hanzo tomorrow?” Gabe asked Leo, looking down at him then back up at Jesse, smirk on his face.

Leo whipped his head round to look at Jesse, eyes wide, “Daddy! You have to!”

“That’s low, usin’ my own baby against me,” Jesse scoffed, leaning forward and kissing Leo’s forehead, “o’ course I’ll talk to him, cupcake.”

“Then it’s settled, I’ll send you the building name and you can talk to him. That wasn’t so hard, was it, Jesse?” Jesse rolled his eyes at the grin on Gabe’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what gabe's doing is probably illegal, i didnt look it up or anything yikes
> 
> and pollito means like little chicken, i thought it was cute for Leo !


	8. The Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry this is late!! Uni hates me!!! but this is the end of it all, it's been a hell of a ride but ive loved every minute of it! I'm massively thankful for everyone who's left lovely comments and kudos you mean the world to me! so enjoy the final chapter!
> 
> also MASSIVE shoutout to blizzard for confirming jack as a gay man!!!

Leo wanted to come. 

Jesse had told him that he was going to talk to Hanzo and Leo had told him he wanted to come with him, that he wanted to see Hanzo too. Jesse could tell his little boy missed him but..

“It’s a grown up conversation, sweetpea, I’m sure Hanzo will be able to come over as soon as I talk to him. Grandma Ana is already excited to have you over to help her plant those new tomato plants you wanted to do,” Jesse told Leo as he pulled his jacket on.

“But I wanna come. I wanna see Hanzo! And Abeulo, too!”

“I ain’t gonna be seein’ Abeulo, he’s teachin’ a class today, I’m jus’ seein’ Hanzo for an adult conversation.”

“I’m an adult! I’m grown up, Daddy!” He yelled, standing up on his bed, Mr. Jumpy in his left hand.

“I know, Leo, but this is between me and Hanzo,” he tried to reassure him, heading over and sitting down on the edge of his bed.

Leo folded his arms over his chest, Mr. Jumpy being moved into the centre of his folded arms. 

“But I wanna see Hanzo! So does Mr. Jumpy! He misses Hanzo, too!”

Jesse sighed softly, reaching out and squeezing Mr. Jumpy’s hand gently, then looking up at Leo and sighing again and leaning his head forward to rest on Leo’s folded arms, smiling when Leo reached up and placed both palms on his head.

“I wanna see him too, Daddy, I miss him too.”

“Okay. Okay, you can come, let’s get your coat on and your shoes.”

Leo grinned, wrapping his arms around Jesse’s head and falling against him, “thanks, Daddy!”

Jesse wrapped his arms around Leo, squeezing him tightly before picking him up and heading to his wardrobe, opening it and picking out one of Leo’s jackets.

“Which shoes do you wanna wear, honey?”

“My frog wellies.”

“Sure, pumpkin,” Jesse picked up the pair of boots in question, carrying Leo downstairs and setting him on the bottom step so he could pull them on his feet. 

Jesse could feel his heart racing as he helped Leo slip his wellies on, taking a deep breath to keep his hands from shaking too much in the daylight. Obviously he was nervous, but Jesse hadn’t felt like this before. Sure, he’d been nervous before, like when he asked Rosie Sanchez to the 8th grade dance, or when he asked Charlie Evans to be his boyfriend in 10th grade in the history room that they used to study in. He’d been nervous talking to the social worker about taking Leo in, and when he finally decided that Leo would be coming with him back home. But this time felt different for Jesse. He just.. couldn’t understand why.

The college Gabriel worked at, and that Hanzo went to, was a fifteen minute drive, settling Leo into his car seat and switching the radio on to whatever the first station was that came up, he tried to keep his mind focused. 

Leo asked him questions about all sorts, about what he was seeing; what he’d seen; what they were going to have for dinner, which eased his mind. No matter what happened, he’d always have Leo. 

They arrived at the college, Jesse pulling the truck into the car park and switching the engine off after they stopped, taking a deep breath.

“Where’s Hanzo?” Leo asked, looking out of the windows at all the students walking about, waving at one of them who was looking back at him.

“He’s in classes, we’re gonna go surprise him, Abuelo is going to tell me where to go and we’ll go meet him, okay?”

Jesse pulled out his phone, quickly dialling his father’s number and letting it ring.

“Hey, Jess, you ready?” Came Gabriel’s deep voice through the phone.

“As I’ll ever be,” he replied, undoing his seatbelt and glancing around.

“Alright, he’s currently in his painting technique class, that’s over in the Blacon building, the dark grey one with the red and blue bits, it’s next to the one that I teach in, you remember where that is?”

“Uh, yeah I think so, they’ve got signs up so I’m sure I’ll find it, thanks for this, dad.”

“It’s not problem, now go talk to him, his class ends in like fifteen minutes. Say hi to Leo for me.”

“I will, I’ll call you later.”

Jesse hung up, slipping his phone back into his pocket and getting out the car, going around and helping Leo out.

“Abuelo said hi,” Jesse told Leo as the pair started walking towards the building, following the signs for the building Gabriel worked in.

“Can we go and see him?” Leo asked, looking up at Jesse, reaching up to hold Jesse’s hand.

“Maybe, it all depends on how my talk with Hanzo goes, okay?”

“I hope it goes okay, I wanna see Abuelo!”

“Me too, cupcake.”

Jesse spotted the building easily, reading the sign next to the doors and reading in, taking a deep breath as he watched students mill about to their classes, smiling when some of them waved to Leo, who eagerly waved back.

“We’ll just have to wait here, honey, I don’t know what room Hanzo’s class is in.”

“Why don’t we ask someone?” Leo asked, already letting go of Jesse’s hand and running over to a group of students sat around a table near the windows.

“Excuse me! What room is the painting class in?” Leo asked, grinning and sitting down on the empty chair, ignoring Jesse’s calls as he ran over.

“Oh.. it’s in the east wing, that’s where all the studios are, so probably like B015?” One of them told Leo before looking up at Jesse and laughing softly, “he’s a bit young to be taking painting classes, don’t you think?”

“They’re not for me! Hanzo’s there! We’re going to see Hanzo!”

“Sorry, he’s just excited about seein’ so many people, thank you for tellin’ us though,” Jesse told the student, scooping Leo up and holding him in his arms.

“Thank you!” Leo called, looking over Jesse’s shoulder and waving to the group as the man carried him off towards the room.

Jesse looked at the room signs as he walked past, looking ahead and freezing when he was a stream of students come out of a studio room, the smell of oil paint following them, and there at the end of them all, was Hanzo. Black jeans hugging his legs, rolled up at the bottom to show off lime socks, his oversized jumper matching his sock colour, his hair pulled up into that bun that Jesse loved so much. He was looking down at his phone, making his way towards Jesse.

And Jesse couldn’t say anything, his heart was racing form seeing Hanzo again, he couldn’t move, only watch as he walked. Speak, Jesse!

“Hanzo! Hanzo, over here!” 

Jesse snapped out his daze, looking down at Leo who was grinning and waving at Hanzo, Jesse’s gaze moving over to the younger man to see his flushed face frozen in position in the corridor, a few students looking between them but no one commenting.

The rest of the corridor slowly emptied as the pair stood looking at each other, feeling Leo shift and squirm in his arms trying to get down.

“Daddy, go talk to him, that’s why you wanted to come,” Leo told him quietly, looking up at him, “it’s only Hanzo.”

And that was the issue, it was Hanzo. Hanzo who wormed his way into Jesse’s life, who made Leo smile with his drawings, made Jesse laugh with his dry humour that he never expected, who made Jesse fall head over heels for him in such a unexpected way.

Hanzo who was also walking towards Jesse, a very confused look on his face.

“Jesse?”

“Uh, hi.. “

“What are you doing here..?”

“I.. I wanted to apologize,” no going back now, “for Ashe. I know she ain’t the best person, like.. yeah I know she ain’t, and the way she treated you weren’t right, and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay, ‘cause y’know you went off all upset, for obvious reasons and I’ve been callin’ and callin’ and I just couldn’t not do anythin’ about it anymore.”

Hanzo blinked a few times, looking down at Leo who was nodding intently with what Jesse was saying.

“And you got my class timetable how?”

“Oh, Gabe got me it, I didn’t know where else to catch ya since you weren’t answering your phone. Thinkin’ on it now, that probably sounds weird and I mean probably illegal actually..”

“It’s fine, Jesse,” Hanzo told him, frowning at first before it slowly turned into a soft laugh, making Jesse pause and nod, cheeks flushing.

“Actually.. I wanted to ask somethin’ else as well?”

“Is that a question or are you going to ask me something?” Hanzo asked, a teasing tone in his voice.

“No.. No I wanna ask,” Jesse stammered out, cheeks going red.

“I wanted to asked if you’d--”

“Be my babysitter again!” Leo interrupted, grinning at the younger man, “Please come back Hanzo!”

Hanzo nodded, the smile falling from his face as he looked down at his shoes, nodding. “Sure, I’ll come baby sit again.”

“Wait, wait, no that wasn’t what I was gonna say,” Jesse told him, taking a few steps forward to be in front of him, “I was gonna ask if you’d wanna get a coffee or have dinner sometime.”

Hanzo froze, looking back up at Jesse, his cheeks equally red as the cowboy’s.

“I’d..”

“I know I’m older and I know you got college and stuff, and I totally get if you ain’t into it like that but I just needed to ask because if I didn’t I’d probably have gone crazy with all these damn feelings in my head and--”

“Jesse. I’d love to.” 

Hanzo stood up higher on his tip toes, pressing a soft kiss against the corner of Jesse’s mouth, “but I have to run, my sculpture class starts in five minutes, I’ll call you, okay?”

Jesse could only nod in response before the younger man slipped away, waving at Leo and heading off down the corridor.

The cowboy grinned, turning on his heel and shouting after Hanzo, “It’s a date, darlin’!”

It was a date and that’s what Jesse was terrified of. 

Hanzo had called Jesse that night asking about some more details and just wondered where they were going, Jesse told him he knew a great Mexican place about twenty minutes away from his and that he’d pick him up at around six o’clock on the Saturday night.

Jesse had spent all of Friday worrying and panicking until Jack and Gabe turned up with bags full of food and drinks, and treats for Leo. Jack was busy making kichel with Leo, letting the boy mix all the ingredients and them turning them into little bowtie shapes to the little boy’s delight, that gave Gabriel to pull him into the living room.

“So, a real date, I’m happy for you, Jess,” He told him, settling down into the armchair, sighing softly as he leaned back, “you decided where to take him?”

“Maria’s place, he said he likes spicy food so I thought there would be the best place for it, and it ain’t too far from the beach so we can go there after,” Jesse replied, sitting down on to the adjacent sofa.

The pair were quiet for a moment, Gabe tilting his head back and listening to Jack and Leo laughing in the kitchen, looking back over at Jesse, chuckling quietly when he saw the other doing the same.

“It’ll be fine, you know, he wouldn’t have agreed to the date if he didn’t like you, you know that, right?”

“I know that, but.. it’s jus’ in the back o’ my mind that he’s jokin’ me about, that he’s only come out with me so he can let me down easy. If it goes wrong, what do I do then?”

“If it goes wrong, then it goes wrong, but at least you’ve tried. You wouldn’t have that feeling like you wasted a chance. You’re surrounded by people who love you with their whole fucking heart, you’re never going to be alone. I get that me and your dad aren’t the same as a partner, but we’re still here.”

Jesse nodded, letting his shoulders sag slightly, rubbing his hands over his face, “you’re right, it’s just a lot I guess..”

“That’s okay, you haven’t dated in a while, but he likes you, you like him, it’s as simple as that. It took me a while to come to terms with the fact I was in love with Jack, I didn’t even know I was gay until I met him. Women were always enough, but I met him and it was like taking off the rose coloured glasses and seeing something incredibly real for once, real feelings for a person, and that fucked me up for a while but I got through it. We got through it.”

Jesse stayed quiet, nodding as his father spoke, letting the other man continue.

“And so will you. Simple as. If it doesn’t work, that’s fine, and if it does, that’s fine too. Don’t overcomplicate things by deciding his feelings for him and deciding he doesn’t like you even before you’ve been on the date with him.”

“You’re right.”

“I always am.”

“What about the time you thought I was hiding drugs from you in my closet and you bust the door down and found out I had rescued those kittens?”

“Okay, mostly always right.”

The door to the kitchen opened and Leo rushed in holding a tray filled with the little bowtie shaped cookies, setting them down on Jesse’s lap. 

“We made bowties!” Leo laughed, picking up a few and running over to Gabe, holding them out for him, “Abuelo you have to try them!”

“Oh, this is your first time having kichel? Your grandpa Jack makes the best kichel in the world,” he told him, taking one of the cookies and biting into it, “with his best strawberry jam.”

Jack took one of the cookies from Leo’s hands, sitting on the arm of the chair Gabe was in, “it was my mom’s recipe.”

Jesse bit one in half, moving the tray so Leo could climb up into his lap, one of the cookies hanging out of his mouth.

“What are you gonna wear tomorrow, Jess?” Jack asked, shifting slightly so Gabe could move his arm around his waist.

Jesse felt his blood from his face, he hadn’t even thought about what he was going to wear.

“Oh God, I have no idea, I ain’t thought about it at all, some jeans and a shirt? Maybe my hat?”

“You can’t wear your hat on a date, Jess, wear that maroon one you have, the one you wore for Ana and Reinhardt’s wedding anniversary,” Jack told him, finishing the other half of his cookie.

“Oh, yeah I’ll wear that then, and the dark blue jeans?”

Gabe nodded, “the ones without the holes in, the others are scruffy.”

“They’re my fun jeans!”

“And it’s a date, wear the jeans without the holes,” Jack told him, “you can still have fun without the ‘fun jeans’, and no hat, okay?”

“Yes, dad,” Jesse rolled his eyes, a smile on his face.

Jesse ended up wearing his hat, it was obvious he was going to. It had been a comfort item for him since he had been a teenager. He’d seen it in a shop window when he was out with Jack, stopping in the middle of the pavement and staring at the brown leather from the other side of the glass. Jack turned back to look at him then at the hat, smiling when he saw Jesse staring at it. Jesse didn’t outright ask for the hat but he’d dropped a few hints but did give up but then on his birthday, he came back from school to see the hat sat on his pillows on his bed with a little note simply saying ‘surprise!’. He’d run downstairs with it pulled tightly on his head, throwing his arms around Jack who was beaming ear to ear.

Gabe teased him at first but he quickly grew to love it.

Jesse didn’t think he’d ever be wearing it on a date, but his worries got the best of him, the comforting weight of the leather and the metal, it eased him.

He’d dropped Leo off at his parents, waving goodbye through the window before heading to the address Hanzo had text him, giving him the flat number so he could be buzzed in. 

He sat in his truck for a few minutes when he got there, closing his eyes and letting the tension from his shoulders go before getting out and heading to the door, pressing the button and hearing the door buzz, heading inside and to the lift.

He waited outside after he’d knocked on the door, jumping slightly as it was pulled open by a much shorter man? Teenager? With bright green hair and grin on his face.

“You must be Jesse! I’ve heard so much about you and your accent and your muscles from Hanzo, do you really talk like a cowboy? I know you have the hat, he loves the hat, he’ll lose his mind when he sees you’ve worn it,” the boy told him, speaking rapidly and not giving Jesse a chance to intervene before he heard a call of ‘Genji!’ from inside the apartment.

“Oh, sure, come in, Hanzo will be like five minutes, he’s hyperventilating in his room. So, anyway, you’re a real cowboy? Can you ride a horse? Is that something you can do? I made a joke about that before with Hanzo but, you know him, he finds everything I do unf--”

“Genji!” Hanzo was stood in the hallway, cheeks red. He was wearing a pair of grey and white chequered suit trousers with a simple black turtleneck tucked in, a long grey overcoat in his hand.

“Oh, he’s stopped hyperventilating, he’s all yours, Mr. Cowboy!” Genji grinned, heading back to Hanzo and patting his shoulder as he passed him, waving a hand over his head.

Hanzo waited til he was gone before speaking, “I’m sorry about him, he’s overwhelming.”

“That’s alright, darlin’, you ready to head out?” He asked, smiling as Hanzo nodded, slipping on a pair of black Chelsea boots and following him out of the apartment.

“So, where are you taking me tonight?” He asked, following Jesse down to the car park and getting into the passenger seat.

“Maria’s, a little Mexican place, got the spiciest green chili enchiladas you ever did have,” he replied, pulling out the parking lot and taking a left.

“I’ll be the judge of that, Genji once tricked me into eating a tablespoon of wasabi paste once thinking it was matcha ice cream, I’ll be able to handle it.”

“Confident words from a man who’s never been to Maria’s,” he laughed, feeling his heart swell when Hanzo joined in with the laughter.

The date went well, they sat chatting until a young lady came to take their order, Jesse getting a slow cooked pulled pork dish and Hanzo getting chicken enchiladas with a five bean rice, feeding each other varies bits of each other dish and sipping their drinks. They ended up sharing a plate of the green chili enchiladas and, to Jesse’s delight, Hanzo admitted that they were actually spicy, but made Jesse promise to try some wasabi some time.

They ended the night with a stroll on the beach, Hanzo slipping his hand into Jesse’s as they walked along with their toes in the warm sand.

“Jesse, I want to talk, about all of this, can we sit down?” Hanzo asked him softly, tugging Jesse up to the foot of a sand dune when Jesse agreed, laying his coat down and sitting on it, letting Jesse sit down next to him.

“I wanted to tell you this before, but I wasn’t sure how to word it. I’ve had a thought about it and I wasn’t really comfortable with you using your father to find out my class timetable. I know I wasn’t accepting calls, but that was for a reason. I was obviously happy to see you, but I just..”

“Oh! Oh, no, I completely understand, honey, I know it was wrong, I kinda only realised after I had done it afterwards that I shouldn’t have done it, I was desperate, and I know that ain’t no excuse. Ain’t tryna justify my actions. I swear I won’t do it again, I’m awful sorry I got you all upset, it won’t happen again.”

Hanzo nodded, leaning his head against Jesse’s arm and closing his eyes, “thank you.”

Jesse leaned his cheek down to rest against Hanzo’s, letting the sound of the ocean wash over them, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

“Were you really hyperventilating before I pick you up or was Genji jus’ jokin’ around?” He asked, hearing Hanzo chuckle.

“I wouldn’t say it was hyperventilating, more like scared breathing? I was very nervous.”

“Me too, Leo had to give me a pep talk before I left.”

“He’s adorable.”

“So are you.”

Jesse could feel Hanzo’s eyes roll, but knew it was with a smile on his face.

“So.. you really wanna do this with me? Go on some more dates? Because I’d love to, you just make my heart go insane and just.. Gosh, you’re jus’ a peach. An dI know I’m ramblin’ and everythin’ but I just think you’re amazin’ and just so kind and so darn beautiful, I mean, you seriously make my heart beat go crazy, and-”

“Jesse. Of course I want to go on more dates, but next time, I pick where we go, okay?” Hanzo asked, lifting his head off Jesse’s shoulder and looking up at him.

“I know you have anxieties and doubts, but I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t care about you. I care for you very deeply, embarrassingly so, but be reassured that I am very much into you, you make me feel alive, it.. it’s just.. I can’t even put the feeling into words. I know this is maybe a bit heavy for a first date, but I felt like I needed to reassure you. I like you and I want this to work, it’s as simple as that, Jesse.”

“Me too, sweetpea, I really like you, we don’t have to rush or label anythin’, we can jus’ be us, if that works for you?”

Jesse looked down at him, smiling and blushing, the moonlight reflecting in Hanzo’s dark eyes. 

“Us definitely works for me.”

“I’m going to kiss you now, is that alright?” Hanzo asked, sitting up slightly straighter, slowly leaning into him, smiling when Jesse breathed out a soft ‘yes’ before closing the distance and kissing him, the moonlight and ocean waves washing over them and surrounding them. And for once, Jesse felt completely and utterly sure they would be okay.

And that he would never be calling any other babysitter ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kichel is like a lovely little jewish sweet?? i hc jack as jewish american and i wanted to add a lil smth of that for y'all
> 
> also pls pls pls feel free to message me to chat at frog-mist on tumblr!! i love making friends and i want to write more fics if ppl wanna help me out with beta-ing and maybe even prompt ideas???
> 
> love u all x
> 
> ps should i do an epilogue


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